Sole charcoal maker keeps tradition alive in Setiu
SETIU: Nordin Ismail has tried his hand at being a fisherman and a house builder but eventually returned to making wood charcoal briquettes.
He used to help his late father, Ismail Said, make wood charcoal in his school days. It was little wonder that no other job felt quite as right with him.
“After assisting my father with the job fulltime, I began to realise that the charcoalmaking industry needed to be kept alive because it is not exactly the kind of job that everyone wants to do.
“In addition to that, the number of people in my village with the knowledge of charcoal making has also dwindled,” he said when met at Kampung Gok here.
Today, the 43-year-old is the only charcoal maker left in the village.
During his father’s time, there were 30 gok (furnace to make charcoal) belonging to the charcoal makers in the village. The village was thus named Kampung Gok.
Today, the village is known as Kampung Kolam.
After working for his father for some time, he was given the trust to take over the business in 2002. Five years later, his father died.
Nordin and his elder brother took over the business that was started by his father along with some friends 40 years ago.
“There used to be so many gok in the village – almost every family had at least one or two. In fact, we even had people from other villages and states relocating to our village just so they could start their own charcoal-making business.
“In the beginning, the gok was built by the roadsides or next to their houses. However, as the industry grew, it was built all over the village,” he said.
Today, wood charcoal is commercially produced in factories.
Nordin said as time went by, interest in the industry began to wane among the villagers.
The younger generation is not keen on earning a living covered in soot and sweat. Eventually, the family businesses closed down.
“Today, I am the only one doing this fulltime. Some of the villagers also make charcoal but only for their own use,” said Nordin, who owns five gok.
The five gok had been moved from their original site near his home to about 2km away from residents so that they would not be affected by the smoke produced from the burning process.
Each charcoal-making cycle lasts over two weeks, so Nordin can produce charcoal only three to four times every two months.
It takes around 15 days to heat the wood into charcoal and two days to let it cool down. After 17 days, the resulting product would be packed for sale. Each packet of charcoal costs RM2.20.
Nordin’s customers are those from the vil- lage and surrounding areas as well as sundry shops and wholesalers.
Wood charcoal makers often work with gelam (Melaleuca), bakau (mangrove) or cengal (Neobalanocarpus heimii) wood to get top quality charcoal.
“I don’t use rengas (Borneo rosewood) because its latex is poisonous, while kapok wood is also unsuitable because it doesn’t light up easily.
“Although charcoal is not that expensive, we need to ensure its safety and quality because it is traditionally used for cooking,” said Nordin, adding that food cooked with charcoal would produce a unique aroma.
Nordin’s charcoal business has its ups and downs. The monsoon season has caused flooding in the area several times now, destroying the charcoal produced and causing him to suffer losses.
Ibrahim Mat Hassan, 64, is among those who ran the business with Nordin’s father.
“I had three gok near my house in the early 80s. At the time, most of the folk here made a living making charcoal, as fishermen or by doing carpentry work,” he said.
However, he has left the business due to his age and health issues.
“Although I am no longer making charcoal, I hope more young people would follow in Nordin’s footsteps and continue this business that we started long ago,” he said.
Wood charcoal is still used today, albeit not as often as it was in yesteryear. People still use wood charcoal for barbecues and grills and it is especially popular among food operators. — Bernama