Red-brick production has become a productive economic activity for\nsome residents of Serang, Banten. Workers made red bricks in Setu\nvillage, Wariginkurung district, Serang, Banten, on Sunday (25 October\n2026). The bricks sell for Rp260 each.<\/p>\n
Despite the growing popularity of innovative lightweight bricks, the\nprofitable red-brick business continues to thrive, as red bricks remain\nan important component in building construction.<\/p>\n
Setu village is one of the centres of the red-brick industry, which\nhas been established there for more than a decade. Visitors to the area\ncan see thousands of red bricks stacked at a lio, a traditional building\nused for making bricks and storing clay.<\/p>\n
The raw material is clay sourced from the area around Bulakan\nvillage. It is first ground in a machine commonly known as a molen until\nsoft enough to make moulding easier.<\/p>\n
The clay is then shaped in the same machine into the familiar form of\na brick. Workers carry the freshly moulded bricks to an open area to\ndry.<\/p>\n
Once dried, the bricks are placed in a kiln consisting of two to four\nlevels. The lowest level holds the firewood used as fuel, while the\nsecond level is used to stack the bricks.<\/p>\n
The bricks are fired for around three to four days. Workers monitor\nand tend the fire around the clock to ensure it does not go out or\nbecome so intense that it scorches the bricks.<\/p>\n
The final stage is cooling. The bricks are left to stand for two days\nso their temperature can stabilise and they can cool down.<\/p>\n
A worker who has been in the industry for about three years said\nproduction could range from hundreds to tens of thousands of bricks a\nday. \u201cIt depends on the supply of clay. If there\u2019s a lot of clay, we can\nmake a lot. In a day, [we can make] 20,000 bricks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At the site, the worker responsible for carrying the bricks out to\ndry is joined by three colleagues, each with a separate role: preparing\nthe clay mixture, moulding the bricks and carrying them.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-look-inside-brickmaking-still-going-strong-in-indonesias-economy-1792990237", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }