The kilns of Dahn Kwian Pottery Village in Nakhon Ratchasima, a hamlet of which the name seems to point to a tradition of trade, as dahn means ‘toll station’ or ‘check point’ and kwian, which means ‘oxcart’, is also an old unit of capacity for measuring.

A clay pit where the raw material is prepared, before being pressed into cylindrical segments by a machine.

The appearance of the mechanical clay-presser is reminiscent of a giant mincer used to make sausages.

Firewood is used as fuel and is burned in the front firebox, heating the air inside from 600 up to over 1,000 degrees Celsius.

Firing time may take anywhere from about 12 hours to several days, and once the pottery is ready, it is removed by hand (fig.).