Souadou Coly - Traditional Senegalese Potter

Souadou Coly makes domestic ware for the local market around Kafountine in the Casamance region of Senegal. Clay is dug from local rice fields by the river and then mixed with various minerals and grog to ensure that anything she makes can withstand the heat of the kiln. All of her work is hand-built using a coiling method and fired once. Pots are piled into the kiln for firing and this can take up to 20 hours and is an expensive process as wood is becoming more scarce.

You can view a film of her working process here (opens in a new window):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdQ5yhnhSeY