“There are seven brick factories in Brunei and I was glad that I had the opportunity to visit one as I gained knowledge and experience from it. I am very grateful to my teachers and the school for organising the visit. I am looking forward to more visits in the future. We took a bus and it took us one-and-a-half hours to reach the brick factory at Sungai Liang,” said Eddy Martin Izzauddin bin Micky Rozimee.
Tinkerbell Learning School pupils recently went on a field trip to a brick factory in Sungai Liang in the Belait District to learn about construction materials used in their school building.

“Many pupils joined the field trip. We departed the school at 7.30am and arrived at 8.15am at the brick factory. We saw many bricks on the road,” said Ayu Zafirah Sinulungga.

“During the bus journey, we passed by the Tutong River and the Sungai Liang firestation,” said Sitty Eimanina bte Johari.

“When we were at the factory, the manager introduced us to their workers. They are Indonesians, Malaysians, Filipinos and Chinese,” said Md Noridham bin Fujiminori.

“Nhomie Llena-Roxas gave us a warm welcome. She briefed us on the history of the factory. She brought us to the place where the bricks are processed. Brick consists of a mixture of black and red clay,” said Eddy Martin Izzauddin bin Micky Rozimee.

“Machines dug up red and black clay from the forest. Machines mixed the two types of clay. These were transferred to another machine to shape the clay into rectangular blocks. They were grouped into piles, and then baked in an oven that could go up to 900 degrees Celsius for 48 hours. The employees led us to a room where they showed us a brick they already made. It weighted 2.8 kgs,” said Nazihah bte Awg Hipni.

After mixing and reshaping with an automatic machine, the bricks were put in an oven. It took 48 hours with high temperature to cook the bricks. After cooking, the bricks were put to dry in cool air, said Eddy Martin Izzauddin bin Micky Rozimee.

Bricks are usually sold in 500 brick-cubes, which weighs one tonne each.

“I saw sand and mud,” said Dk Liyana bte Pg Mahari (sand is used to reduce shrinkage). “The sand was red in colour and the mud was brown in colour. I saw many bricks but they were not dry yet. The man gave us one brick to touch. The bricks were hot and cold. He said the bricks were put on trays in the big oven. After we saw the bricks they gave us a drink and a present each. It was so much fun. We were happy.”

Ayu Zafinah Sinulingga said, “The pupils from Year Four, Five and Six enjoyed the field trip. We had a picnic at the Sungai Cerapon floating hut, not far from the brick factory. There were many fish in the river. We saw the fish swim and eat their food. We were very happy. Even if we were all tired, we still enjoyed the field trip.”

“We ate all our food. It was a good day, one that I will not forget,” said Sitty Eimanina bte Johari.

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