Malaysian Clay Pot Factory
Words from ‘PLANTS, CLAY & FIRE’ - by Cade McConnell
35 mm photography - Cade McConnell
From my cooking workshops and catering events, people were asking me where I got my clay pots. There was no source, as I had gotten mine from secondhand markets at this stage. This was a venture I wanted to embark on - offering traditional earthen cookware to my community. I am really passionate about this and it’s a way of sharing a piece of my own kitchen with others.
I found a video online of a man being interviewed about clay pots that he made in his factory in Malaysia. I got a strong feeling that I needed to find and meet this man. He made the clay pots I had been using, I recognised them in the video. There was no information about his business, no phone number or address, just the province where his factory was located.
It was 2019 and my business (Om Cade) was still very young, I didn’t have much work. I had enough money and the space to spontaneously book a three week trip to Malaysia. The first few days I’d spend in Penang, drinking tea and getting a feel for the place. Then I was accepted to sit my second Vipassana meditation course. After this, I wanted to go on a quest to find the clay pot craftsman, but I had no idea how. If I didn’t find him, I was content with sitting the meditation course and having a new experience in a foreign place. I didn’t feel any attachment or expectation to finding him.
On the flight over to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, there was a family sitting to my left. A couple and their son. Towards the end of the flight, I felt friendly smiles and warmth from them. They asked what book I was reading and we conversed a little. I enjoyed our conversation. When we got off the plane, they asked me what I was doing in Malaysia. I told them I came to practice meditation and that I was a cook and I wanted to find clay pots to import back home to Australia. I said there was a specific man who made the pots I wanted to find. They invited me to come and stay at their home when I got out of Vipassana. I happily agreed and was looking forward to getting to know them more after the course. I sent them the link to the video I had watched earlier, as I was to be uncontactable for 12 days.
When I popped out the other side of the meditation course, a little more aware and awake than before I stepped in, I headed back to Kuala Lumpur to stay with the family - Joie, Ken and Devun. They had found a phone number for the clay pot factory and had organised for us to visit. They offered to drive me there. We went out for a masala dosa breakfast then visited a temple on the way.
This was such a bizarre feeling. Strangers on the plane, who are now dear friends, were taking me to the mysterious clay pot factory to meet the craftsman. I sat next to them on the flight because I selfishly pounced onto the vacant three seat row that was next to them so I could sleep. Fast forward, I was sitting in the back of their car going up the dirt driveway of the same factory in the video I was watching a couple of months earlier... and there he was! The clay pot man, Ah Meng, right in front of my eyes.
That trip felt divinely supported. Ah Meng doesn’t speak English so Joie translated for me. It was such a special time at the factory, spending time with Ah Meng who we call Uncle, and his family and seeing how and where the clay pots were made. It was like finding gold. There were clay pots everywhere. I was so amazed by this place...
Our village pots drying in the sun before they’re then stacked into the wood kiln for cooking (firing).