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Land Tax Payment for the year 2023.

  

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Pottery Making

Pottery Making

Pottery Making Service in Guangzor

In the absence of a market for Bhutanese handmade earthen pots, and competition from ready-made imports, the traditional craft of pottery making in Bhutan is on the verge of extinction but in Gangzur in Lhuentse, it still survives in the hand of two women who continue to practice this ancient tradition.

Tshering Zangmo and her friend Tshewang who are in their mid 30s make about 20 pots of different design, some as small as a teacup used to burn incense to the biggest, about three feet in height, used to brew ara or local wine. "There are five different types, each having its own specific utility," said Tshering Zangmo, who has been making pots for the past 15 years.

During winter when there is no work in the field, the two women collect the red and yellow sandy clay from the hill in front of their house and manually make the earthen pots. They do not use a spinning lathe. Once stones and other granules are removed from the clay it is kneaded and beaten into malleable dough. The pots are shaped on a thatched wooden plank. The inside of the clay ball is gouged out and the rough shell is left to dry for a week. The pots are then put in a fire to make them firm and durable. Every month villagers from other Geogs in Lhuentse buy pots from the two women and also people from other part of the country and foreigners who visit the village to see the two at work buy their product. In a month we earn about Nu. 500 said Zangmo. It is enough to pay our land Tax, house insurance and livestock tax and to buy the vegetable oil, sugar and salt.

Tshering Zangmo said during the Monsoon, the soil gets deprived of its sticky natural gule and is therefore unsuitable to make pots. Two years back Tshering and Tshewang sold five pots regardless of their sizes for just one Ngultrum until the dzongkhag officials advised them to raise the rates "We now sell a pot for about Nu. 45 each," said Tshewang.

The two women said the number of buyers had dropped with time. Their main customers are now villagers from Khoma who bought the oversize pots to brew ara while a few government officials and visitors bought the smaller ones.

The people of Gangzur have no knowledge of how old the pottery tradition is but Tshering Zangmo says that not very long ago people from eight Geogs under Lhuentse used earthen pots to cook food, brew ara, and store water.

One of the traditional Bhutanese crafts, pottery is on the verge of extinction in Paro and has completely disappeared in the villages above Khasadrapchu in Thimphu. "The entire village used to make earthen pots in the past," said Tshering Zangmo.

Bangchung

Bangchung

Bangchung are made from special bamboo that grows on the hills of Eastern Bhutan. This was originally used as plate for eating rice in formal times and even today people in the east used to carrying food and snacks during long travel. Although, people are now using more fancy plates, Bangchungs are still widely used to carry offerings for the temples, and other activities that needs to carry food without much hassle. It is now most of the people used as organizers or decoration in home or as gift to the friends and relatives.

Therefore, people from Thrimshing Kangpar in Tashigang District and Kheng usually make this product and sell to the Tourism Industries and also slowly to the global market.