Shivakumar Bricks

Shivakumar Bricks is situated at 56, right on the road that goes from Marthandam to Thengapattanam. We’re in the Munchirai area. It’s a nice part of the country, though the humidity can really get to you when you’re working outside all day in the sun. Our yard is right along the main road, so it’s easy for people to find us when they’re heading toward the coast. We’ve been making bricks here for years, using the local clay and the methods we learned from our elders. There isn't anything fancy about how we operate. We wake up early, get the fire going if it's kiln day, and start the long process of molding and drying. The rain is our biggest enemy in Munchirai; if it starts to pour, we have to scramble to cover everything with plastic sheets. My sons help me out with the heavy lifting now that I’m getting a bit older. We see a lot of people passing through on their way to Thengapattanam. Sometimes they stop just to ask for directions, and other times they’re looking to buy enough for a garden wall or a small extension on their house. We don't have a big office with air conditioning. We just have a small desk under a porch where we keep track of the sales. It’s honest work, and it keeps us tied to the land here. We are just a local family doing what we know how to do.