Brickmaking in Ben Tre, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

The Mekong Delta  provides important livelihood to the SouthVietnamese. It is the region where they grow rice . Here they are able to produced more rice than Korea and Japan combined. It is also considered the second richest river in terms of biodiversity, second only to the Amazon River. They have a wide variety of fish, shellfish, shrimps and grow the globally distributed pangasius or as we know it , the cream dory fillet.

The Mekong River runs through six countries starting in China, then to Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and finally in South Vietnam. By the time the river reaches the Mekong Delta it has carried  large amounts of clay deposits. Thus, the Mekong Delta has also supported the construction industry in Vietnam.  In the Ben Tre region, I witnessed their traditional way of brick making.

Clay from the Mekong Delta

Machine for extruding clay

Hollow brick

Ready to go

Dried in the sun

piled up and ready for firing

waiting to be fired

inside the kiln

the kiln 

piled up inside the kiln and ready for firing

foundation of the clay oven

kiln is fired using rice hull- precious gold

Firing the kiln

constant refilling

all done thanks to the tons of rice hull available from the rice production in the region

ready for delivery

vietnamese women play a major role in vietnam society

the kilns as viewed from the Mekong River

most of the bricks are transported by river and delivered for the construction boom in Ho Chi Minh City