Pottery Kiln Project

Clay pots are widely used for cooking in Sri Lanka and Swisscontact’s interventions in the fields of product development and access to new market have led to increased production and income by 18% during the last 12 months. However due to the lack of technology and finance to upgrade products for emerging market demand, producer families are still having a hard time to survive in the industry. The main problem that impedes the growth in this sector is a lack of financing for investments in pottery erecting machines and effective burners. Existing pottery burners are very inefficient. They consume a lot of firewood, create harmful smoke and damage the products. Most banks are not interested in providing loans to potters as the amounts needed are often small in value and poor families do not have collateral that the banks demand.

Outcomes and Impacts:
The project will install 100 improved burners which use less fuel and cause less damage to the pots. Training on better production techniques will also be provided; thereby the income of producer families is increased by up to 50%. Air pollution is reduced and health constraints on producer families are lowered. The provision of technology will be accompanied with measures addressing the social and emotional side of pottery producer families.

The beneficiaries of this project are 200 pottery making families in two traditional villages in Kurunegala district. This amounts to approx. 1,000 direct beneficiaries of the project.

Activities:
The Project will improve the pottery production process in a sustainable manner by introducing better pottery weathering and burning methods. The project will also provide seed capital in the form of low interest loans or grants to build (where possible upgrade) 100 burners. This will enable the producers to increase production while reducing production cost. The new burners will be fuel efficient and temperature controlled. The result will be lower cost of energy and less damage to products. This effort will be combined with measures addressing the social constraints producers’ face, in order to build up their self-esteem and competencies to become more active in shaping their future. Further the project will build the capacity of associations so that they are able to continue the process of building and upgrading of burners.

Contact Details: More information of the project can be obtained from:
Walter Horn, Director Asia & Eastern Europe, Swisscontact (walter.horn@swisscontact.ch)