Raising a Big Family Through a Traditional Skill
Prak Hay, a local blacksmith, is forging a metal bar with his hammer inside his simple workshop. Photo: Zul Rorvy
- By Zul Rorvy
- October 1, 2023 5:00 PM
Siem Reap – Prak Hay has raised his family for decades, even in times of social conflict, by working in a metal workshop under a hut near his home. His products take a long time to make but are still popular in his community.
A five-minute walk from the main concrete road of the community leads to his house in the village of Anlong Thom in Siem Reap province. The terrain is uneven with a mix of sand and mud as well as coconut tree roots sticking out of the ground.
Children run around the pathways among the houses on each side of the pathways.
Next to his wooden house on concrete stilts, Prak Hay’s workshop is no more than a thatched hut with zinc sheet walls.
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Sparks fly as the furnace flames grow pushed by an electric fan, an upgrade from a manual blower.
Hay learned blacksmithing from his father-in-law, now 71 years old, and making knives and gardening or farming tools has been his bread and butter for four decades.
“It was hard to buy materials like this before. So, I began this work with him through compassion,” Hay said.
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Although industrial production produces similar tools with low cost and at scale, his skill is still in demand in his community.
“I learn from the buyers,” he says. “I shape my tools according to the specific needs of my customers.”
Although the job is energy intensive, his patience and persistence have allowed him to generate enough cash to raise his six children until maturity.
“During wartime, one digging hoe could be exchanged for a basket of rice. This helped us live.”
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As society moves on, Hay worries about the future of his skill. None of his six children wants to continue blacksmithing. Currently, only one of his grandchildren is helping him out, not knowing for sure whether the younger generation will take this skill seriously.
Through experience, Hay is able to filter out quality scrap metal that he can get his hands on, especially from agricultural machinery or automobiles.
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Although this traditional skill is in decline, Prak Hay’s rhythm in shaping the glowing red-hot metals generate a sense of compassion toward a life dedicated to his family.
Conducted in Khmer for ThmeyThmey News, the interview was translated by Luy Sirey Reaksa for Cambodianess News.
To watch the video in Khmer, click here.
