Parackal Quarry

The quarry is tucked away in Edathala. It’s a rugged place with a lot of rock and heavy equipment parked around the site. We spend most of our time out in the open, dealing with the granite and the earth. It is not a clean job. There is always mud or dust depending on what the Kerala weather is doing that day. When the monsoon hits, things slow down quite a bit because the ground gets too slippery for the heavy trucks. We have a few guys who have been working these rocks for a long time. They know how to handle the machinery and where the best stone is coming from. Most of our work involves breaking down the big pieces into something that can actually be used for building. You can hear the engines humming from the road before you even see the gate. It’s a local operation, so we know most of the contractors who come through here to pick up loads. We don't have any fancy offices, just a small cabin where we keep the logbooks and take our tea. Sometimes the neighbors complain about the noise, but that’s just how it is with a quarry. We try to get the work done during the day and close up before it gets too late. It is a lot of grinding work every single day, but the stone keeps coming out and the trucks keep moving. We just keep the gears turning.