Brick Making Methods

Bricks in Afghanistan are moulded manually by tens of thousands of seasonal brick labour all over the country. Only very few brick makers have mechanic moulding machines.

The very ancient Clamps are still commonly used brick kilns in Afghanistan, especially in medium cities and rural areas. They are highly polluting and energy inefficient and used to be fired with all kind of fuels (wood, coal and rubber).

Bull’s Trench Kilns (BTKs) are semi-industrial brick kilns, originated in the colonial India during the 19th Century. BTK have a very high production capacity (more than 20’000 bricks per day) and in bigger urban agglomerations such as Kabul and South-West Afghanistan they are more and more currently replacing the traditional clamp kilns. The Afghan brick-makers import this technology from Pakistan, where construction and firing crews are hired for establishing and initiating a new BTK ventures. BTKs are more relatively energy efficient than clamp kilns but offer socially unacceptable working conditions.

More than a hundred first generation VSBKs were built in Herat region in the 1990s and few third generation VSBKs have been recently built in Kabul. Most first generation VSBKs have exceeded their “expiry date” and only few are operational, while the full scale operation of the 3rd generation VSBKs have yet to be established by the respective entrepreneurs.

Hoffmann kilns and Tunnel kilns. A few instances of high investment kiln firing technologies such as Hoffmann kiln and Tunnel kilns are also present. These are generally owned by joint venture companies with foreign collaboration. But none are reported to be in operation at present.

Economic Dynamics

Since Clamps and BTKs can’t be efficiently operated during wintertime and rainy periods, there is an important price fluctuation between summer (over-production and low prices) and winter (brick scarcity resulting in high brick prices). The prices vary from 2.5-4 Afs /brick and with it also the coal price which has its peak during the high brick season.

For landowners of clayey land, the brick business generates high profits, with comparably little upfront investments.

Environmental Aspects

The brick sector is one of the most polluting industries in Afghanistan as well as in rest of the South Asia. Apart from huge emission of Suspended Particular Matters (SPM), brick kilns also emits considerable amount of climate change relevant emissions such as the Carbon Dioxide and Black Carbon. Due to the kilns low level of combustion and thermal insulation BTKs and Clamp kilns are heavily emitting both CO2 and SPM compare to VSBK. These emissions are particularly responsible for melting of the Hindu Kusha and Himalayan glaciers, which will affect the livelihood massively of hundreds of millions people who depend on the South Asian rivers.

Labour Aspects

South Asian brick labourers are infamous for being among the most exploited workforce worldwide. Brick moulders and brick carriers are often bonded labour (slaves) and also children labourers, although no official statistics exist for Afghanistan. The firing crews use to be Pakistani from Peshawar or former refugees who have learned their skills in Pakistan have now returned to Afghanistan. Given the actual BTK boom, especially newcomers, face shortage of brick labours experienced in BTK operation. Working conditions in existing brick kilns in Kabul are quite severe and harsh with an unhealthy and unsafe working environment. Issues as seasonal work, migrant workers, and child labour are serious issues associated with Afghani brick kilns.