My Charcoal Factory @ Kuala Sepetang — Attraction in Perak

Reached here after having lunch at Taiping and checking into our Airbnb. Pre-book with Mr. Chuah for tour as we came as a group of 13 persons. When we arrived, there is another 2 big bus of group came as well. So we waited for our turn for the guided tour. In the meantime we walk around to talk a bunch of photos and video of the surrounding.

The factory located next to a river for convenience to transport and unload the mangroves log harvester from the surrounding area. This factory has been in operations since 1930 and Mr. Chuah the owner is the 3rd generation taking over the business. Surrounding also have a few more charcoal factories. All of which made Kuala Sepetang one of the oldest charcoal making area in Malaysia. Very unique indeed as many Malaysian do not know that.

Mr. Chuah gave us a tour around the factory and provided a comprehensive explanation and Q&A session. Very valuable experience for city folks like us. Really not an easy industry to be in - long period production which needed 1 month to produce a batch of charcoal. Most of finished products are sold to a local Japanese company who will package it and export to Japan. The loose breakages charcoal are sold locally.

At the end, you will personally view and appreciate the charcoal in a different perspective. Really hope the industry will survive with its unique art. A most to visit when...

With modern combustible burning feul changing from wood base to gas base. I clearly remember my mum used to cook with charcoal burners back then, now you hardly find the use of charcoal cooking anymore and the use of these burnables is hardly used. But these trades still churn out products through some small family run industry along the Pantai Remis/ Kuala Sepetang stretch. The surviving breed of Charcoal producers are still busy generating for the dependency of local users mainly for local consumption. They're still able to source raw materials the likes of bakau wood to produce charcoal. The brief stop over at the kiln is indeed a very educating adventure and worth the time spend snubbing around the place, taking a few pictures here and there was venturesome. You should be able to learn something or pick up a tab or two from your sojourn and share your info. That's what I am doing right now if you are reading my comments and it pleased me by sharing this enterprising encounter with you. Hope you too find it enjoyable too. Give me a Like if you find this article...

The first time I saw Mangrove wood used for Charcoal was in The Penitentiary in Antigua [E. Caribbean]. This factory is ever so much more organised. The process was enhanced by the Japanese during the WW2 Occupation... and Japan buys about 1/2 of the production. The wood logs [30 years old, & replanted after harvesting] are "cooked/baked" for over 3 weeks until about 80% of the moisture has been removed [some of which is captured for use as an insect repellent]. The tour shows how this is done... and the scale is very large [the largest in Malaysia]!! Charcoal [and its "vinegar] is now finding increasingly interesting uses--- such as Singapore's amazing "Charcoal Bread"!! This is a...