Preparing the kiln for the firing.
The other day I went up the mountain here in Bali to learn the ancient art of Take Sumi. Take Sumi, is essentially activated bamboo charcoal– a special type of charcoal making that was taught to this village by a group of 80 year old Japanese masters who came to this village when its chief farming livelihood was damaged by a storm a decade ago.
Conductive! A small piece of bamboo placed between the probes of my multi meter conducted at about 20 Ohms.
The special kiln fired process is 100% organic and results in temperatures of up to 1000C– enough to acheived elusive ‘white charcoal’ state. Indeed, the bamboo is not actually white, it has a silver hue to it– not to mentioned dramatic conductive and absorbtion properties.
In medieval China, Korea and Japan, every village would have a Takesumi producer. Farmers and Kings alike would use this ‘black diamond’ to purify water, heal infections, and reduce the acidity of food and drink. It is no coincidence that the life expectancies in these areas were some of the longest in the world at the time.
Thank you Nicolas Millet for the photos!
