tion who live in the countryside, far from the cities and

towns. They depend for their very livelihood on water —

for irrigating crops, for transportation (Thailand's water-

ways are far longer than its roads) as well as for personal

use in cooking, drinking and washing.

Whole communities — entire villages — are located

on the banks of rivers and alongside the vast network of

man-made canals or 'klongs'. Other villages are set in the

midst of ricefields or other growing crops, and the nearest

navigable 'klong may be some distance away. But wher-

ever they are situated, almost all rural Thai houses are

surrounded by raised balconies or platforms on which

arc several "klong jars" — perhaps ten or even twenty of

them. These large, plump earthenware water urns

remind one of the jars in which Ali Baba's Forty Thieves

hid. "Klong jar", incidentally, is a purely English name

for these vessels; in Thai they are called 'dtoom' or 'oang'.

Apart from the southern peninsula, most of Thai-

these hot, dry months the water stored in the klong jars is

often the only source available. Every household keeps a

certain number of klong jars filled with pure, clean, rain-

water, which is used only for drinking, while the remain-

ing jars contain less pure water carried painstakingly

from the nearest klong, and used for cooking and

washing.

A special type of red clay is needed to make klong

jars, which obviously must be robust and strong enough

capacity of the largest size, measuring about two feet

across by three feet high; the usual capacity is smaller, the

clay, known as 'din niao', literally "sticky earth," is found

at its best only in Ratchaburi Province, some sixty miles

southwest of Bangkok. So it's not surprising that in the

presently making klong jars. A typical factory may em-

ploy fifty workers, including a few youngsters in their

In earlier times the red earth was dug up, mixed with

water, and left in a ditch for three days and nights, after

which it was taken out and walked on — rather like

treading grapes to make wine. The purpose was to detect

and remove any hard lumps of so-called "dead earth".

Nowadays people no longer "tread" the earth. Instead,

the hard lumps are sorted and removed by mechanical

means.

The remaining "pure" earth is next kneaded, just

like dough for making bread. It is now ready to be

molded by the potter on his wheel, as is done the world

during molding. The consistency of the moist clay must

be just right; if it's too thick or too thin, it will crack.

Up until about eight or ten years ago, the potter's

wheel in some factories was turned by human power. A

slim young girl, perhaps, both hands holding straps fixed

to the ceiling like those in a subway car, and standing

with one foot on the ground, would use the other foot in

rhythmic movement to rotate the wheel. It was said that

because of the weight of the wheel with its huge mass of

wet clay, this method produced a steadier and more

powerful rotation than an electric motor. Nowadays,

however, this picturesque but tiring method is no longer

used, and all potters' wheels in Ratchaburi are power-

driven.

The workers in at least one factory come mainly

from northeast Thailand. The work is carried out in vast,

cool sheds with bare, swept earth floors. Both men and

women do the heavy work, though the potter at the

wheel is usually a man.

Because of their large size, klong jars are made in two

sections. First the bottom half is shaped, and then left to

settle for a while, after which it is dried in the sun; the top

half, still wet, is then joined on.

When the whole jar is dry, the designs are drawn on.

This is sometimes done by the youngsters; with a thumb

dipped in white clay, they make freehand designs of fire-

breathing dragons at lightning speed, on jar after jar. At

the same time, equally young colleagues slip the com-

pany's name and trademark on, using stencils. The speed

with which it's done almost takes one's breath away.

The jars are then left for ten days before being fired

in kilns to put the glaze on. Firing lasts for two days and

nights. A special kind of wood known as 'benjaphan' ("of

five kinds") is used to fuel the kilns to the high tempera-

ture needed, but this cheap source of fuel is becoming

increasingly scarce as Thailand's forests become more

and more depleted.

The finished klong jars are a shiny, rich golden

brown, with the designs in a lighter shade of the same

color. The business is a thriving one, and a typical factory

owner says he's able to give all his six children a good

education. He has seven or eight trucks which deliver

Nowadays, however, there's little demand for klong jars

in Bangkok where most houses have piped tap-water.

Another, newer source of competition is the use of

cement for making klong jars, which is cheaper. How-

folk are traditionalists at heart, and they and their

children in turn will probably continue to buy klong jars

of the tried and proved variety, made from the red earth