Myanmar Day 4 : Yandabo

This morning we tied up to the river bank and spent the morning in the "village" of Yandabo which is famous for its pottery. The population is about 10,000 including the surrounding rural area. Approximately 50% of the community, 78 families, derive their income from making functional pots and the remaining population are farmers. The pots are primarily water carriers but they also make steamers for cooking, terracotta fire stands for resting their cooking pots on and garden pots. They are make from the clay and sand of the riverbank and from yucky grey colour become a beatiful terracotta colour. They are stacked on the riverbank when they are completed and wholesalers buy them and distribute them on boats up and down the river. We saw the entire process as we meandered through the village from mixing the clay and sand and forming it into large balls with their feet to forming the pots on a pottery wheel. The women are extremely skillful potters and make about 100 per 10 hour day. They are very proud of their product which is strong enough when dry to stand on even before firing. They are all decorated with patterns which are applied using a wooden mallet. They are fired in huge rakku style kilns built to hold between 1500 and 2000 pots at a time. These are one use only kilns built on a bed of wood and damped down with ash from previous firings. They can be 15 feet high and the men stand and lie on the lower layers to build the upper levels as the women throw the pots up to them. We saw a couple being prepared and one actually firing. It was a lot of work for a return of $1 Australian per pot but it gives them a good living.
We were assured by a crew member that it would be a nice shady walk but discovered that some main streets had had the trees cut down in preparation for the installation of power lines. I am sure the locals will think it worthwhile when it does arrive as they currently rely on photovoltaic panels for power. Not very convenient during the 3 month rainy season.
We also visited the school and delivered pens, pencils and stationary as suggested because these things are expensive and the schools are minimally funded. Teachers salaries only. The children were charming and sang for us. I guess the disruption of our visit was worthwhile for the goodies it provided.
We were also entertained by watching some of the local men trying to start a crank handle ignition diesal engine truck known locally as "Chinese Buffalos". The three men who had driven it to the sand pile had no idea how to crank it and the two trying took off in all directions as the motor fired and they didn't know how to release it. Eventually a knowledgeable man walked up, handed his child to one of the men and cranked it competantly to cheers from the onlookers.
This afternoon we have traveĺed down river to the ancient city of Bagan which was in the height of its development between 900 and 1300 with 5000 pagodas built. Walking tour tomorrow.