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Declining economic prospects and clay pits in Bahrain are affecting the historic A’Ali pottery district with fewer potters remaining and a growing need to import clay from overseas, according to local potters.
The pottery district in A’Ali is lined with vases and other crockery for sale made by local potters, many of whom come from families who have been in the trade for generations.
Abdulla Alshogal told the GulfWeekly: “Only nine pottery families now remain in the business, and many have had to combine operations to reduce costs. While pottery is something my siblings and I learned when we were young, as we grew up, many of them went for more lucrative careers.
“We have to keep our tradition alive. Our basic technique hasn’t changed since the Dilmun era and we have come up with new designs like pumpkins (in Halloween) to stay relevant. We have capacity to produce much more, but not as many people are buying clay items these days.
“While we see business all year, it’s mainly Ramadan when we have to increase production to match demand.”
Bahraini pottery businesses have been impacted by a ban on digging for clay from the Hunainiyah Valley, near Riffa, which was imposed by the Southern Municipal Council in 2008 after uncovered trenches measuring three to four metres deep were deemed a potential health hazard.
It has been previously reported that the ban on excavating clay was implemented after thieves illegally dug large pits in the valley and made off with lorry loads of clay to sell.
It was estimated that up to 2,000 truckloads of clay was taken from the valley since 2001, but the ban had an immediate impact on traditional potters. However, a decision taken in 2015 to lift the ban offered a lifeline to the industry.
Since then, authorities have regulated the number of times clay can be extracted from the pits, reducing it to two a year, under supervision.
Abdulla added: “We are importing clay from overseas like Saudi Arabia and UK since we can only extract twice a year and it is sometimes hard to know how much we will sell, six months ahead. But importing means that we have to increase the prices we sell earthenware for. Sometimes, it becomes twice as expensive, if not more.”
While multiple municipal councils have sought to address the issue, the economic realities have had lasting impacts on the number of younger potters entering the industry.
There was a time when the village was filled with foot traffic. The streets now lie empty and silent, a memorial to a dying tradition, ironically in the company of the A’Ali burial mounds which fought for their own survival until they were recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
