The Nung community turns soil into sustainable income with traditional roofing tiles.
Recognized by the People's Committee of Cao Bang Province as one of three official traditional craft villages in early 2024, the craft of making yin-yang clay roof tiles continues to provide a vital income for the residents of Lung Ri hamlet, while preserving the region’s cultural heritage.
The process of making yin-yang clay tiles - an earthenware roofing style known for its interlocking convex and concave tiles - has been handed down for generations. The handmade method using local clay not only sustains incomes during off-farm seasons but also helps preserve a cultural legacy. Lung Ri tiles are sold across the district and neighboring provinces.
Lung Ri, a hamlet in Tu Do Commune, Quang Hoa District, Cao Bang Province, is home to 80 households of the Nung ethnic group. For over a hundred years, it has been renowned for its traditional handcraft of producing yin-yang roof tiles.Currently, 23 of the 80 households continue practicing the craft, generating stable incomes for their families. Each household earns on average between 25 to 40 million VND annually (approximately 985 to 1,575 USD) from tile-making alone.To produce a tile, artisans go through numerous steps: selecting, soaking, kneading, and sieving the clay, shaping it, drying, and finally firing it in kilns. Everything is done by hand, ensuring aesthetic quality and longevity. Artisans search for clay with the right fineness and plasticity. Once sourced, the clay is mixed with water in pits to reach the right moisture level. After 10 days of soaking, buffaloes are used to knead the clay for 4 to 5 days until it reaches the necessary consistency.Once kneaded, the clay is left to rest for another 5 to 6 days to maximize its cohesion and elasticity.The rested clay is sieved to remove all foreign particles. Mac Van Thanh demonstrates precision using a taut wire tool to slice clay layers and manually pick out impurities.
The clean clay is then shaped into blocks and wrapped in plastic to retain moisture before shaping. Using specialized tools, artisans slice the clay into thin, 1 cm sheets. Luong Van Ne, a local artisan with more than 30 years of experience, shared that this ancient craft depends heavily on the meticulous, manual selection and preparation of clay to ensure the quality of the tiles.Vi Thi Diem, a seasoned tile-maker, explained that to keep the slices pliable enough not to crack, the earlier steps - especially clay selection and soaking - must be done with utmost care.The slices are wrapped around a cylindrical wooden mold, smoothed by hand, moistened if needed, and trimmed to form four blank tiles per mold.Thin clay slices are wrapped around wooden molds to form tile blanks.The blanks are sun-dried on straw-covered soil for 30 to 40 days before firing.Artisan Lam Van Bich, with over 30 years of experience, inspects tile blanks before firing.Tiles are dried on straw-covered ground to prevent sticking during the 30-40 day drying phase.Firewood for kilns is locally sourced by Lung Ri residents.
Each kiln holds between 16,000 and 20,000 tiles. The tiles are baked for 7 days and nights using firewood sourced from nearby forests.
After firing, tiles are left to cool in the kiln for 14 to 21 days before being loaded onto trucks for distribution.
Thanks to rigorous clay selection, manual processing, and the use of buffalo-powered kneading, Lung Ri’s yin-yang tiles are known for their strength, durability, and weather resilience - cool in summer, warm in winter. The craft not only provides a livelihood but also helps preserve a rich local heritage.
Vietnamnet.vn
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