Pottery Square

Square Nepal, Nepal

It’s like a step back in time to visit Bhaktapur. Handicrafts are still made by hand here and not imported from China with a label stuck onto them. Traditionally spun and fired clay pots are a fine example of Bhaktapur’s thriving craft trades. It’s a fascinating process to watch. More perhaps because of the people than the actual pot making.

If the sun is shining life in Bhaktapur's pottery square is running at full blaze. The wide open brick courtyard will be awash with a mix of small grey and brownish red clay pots, all sectioned off depending on design or purpose. In among this maze of clay ware you’ll see a person tending to each pot much like a dedicated gardener might tend to their plants. Every pot is examined by hand before being turned to face the sun at new angle or dipped into a bucket of colored water. Large woven baskets are regularly brought out to gather freshly baked pots while another person weaves their way along behind them with a wooden tray of newly fired pots to replace the finished ones. It’s a finely tuned system of human pottery rotation from this centuries-old tradition.