When Indian indentured labourers came to Trinidad they brought their food, culture, arts and craft. One such craft that has survived the passage of time and evolved into a profitable business is the skill of pottery or terracotta making. Although the use of pottery as utensils dwindled as other types of dishes became affordable, the art of pottery making is still practiced today and the creations are mostly sold for decorative and religious purposes. It is still hand crafted in parts of the country such as Chaguanas and Rio Claro, marrying a lot of the old styles with modern time-saving techniques. Andy Benny, a 38-year-old fourth generation potter who runs Radika's Pottery Shop at Edinburgh Village in Chaguanas, says his great, great, great, great maternal grandfather Seecharan was one of two brothers who came from India with the skills. He said Seecharan stayed in Chaguanas, while his brother Goolcharan set up shop in Rio Claro. Pottery making has seen the family though the many generations, putting food on their plates, paying the bills and putting clothes on their backs, Benny said, adding that he was proud to be a kohar, the Indian word for potter.
The skill was taken up by his mother Radick, he said, who was the only daughter among her siblings. His mother bore eight children and went into the pottery business alongside her brothers to supplement her income. Initially potters made plain items, he said. However, the influence of the mass media and travel inspired local potters to expand into areas of decorated vases and ornaments with varying designs that are attracting buyers from across T&T and the region. He described the clay in central Trinidad as the finest in the region. Government, he said, was overlooking pottery as a viable export industry that could generate sustainable employment.
The art of pottery is a process. The clay is soaked and run through a kneading mill to remove air bubbles, which can expand on firing and crack the pot. In the old days the potters danced on the clay to soften and squash the air bubbles out of the lumps of wet soil. The pieces are cut into blocks and shaped by hand on potter's wheels made with old car parts, drive belts, pulleys and motors. The molded pieces are air dried on planks, then placed in a giant open oven that is fired using wood for as long as 20 hours. Fluctuations in temperature and gases emanating from the wood causes varying colours on the finished product. Pottery that is blackened is usually the strongest. Benny said the art of pottery is hard work, but the rewards comes with the satisfaction of creating something from a skill handed down through the generations.
