Wednesday 21 August 2013

Disappearing slate stone marks decline of time-honoured business

Although many schools in Myanmar still use the traditional slate stone as a writing tablet for students to begin practicing the alphabet and numbers, this time honoured practice is slowly disappearing with the arrival of modern stationary and exercise books in the classroom.

Slate stones are traditionally produced in Belu Island in Mawlamyine where deep quarries are dug near Mudon Mountain to retrieve the smooth stone tablet that can be used for writing. However a falling demand marks the decline of a time-honoured business.


"I've been doing this business since I was 15 years old. The business was good at that time and so the whole village is making slates. At the moment these tablets are still used until Grade 4. But now some schools are providing students with stationery and even back packs and we are seeing less use of traditional slates," said Nyunt Maung, a local from Belu Island.

A slate stone costs 400 Kyat to dig and polish and each tablet sells for 600 Kyat per slate. A packet of slate pencils sells at 500 Kyat.

During the rainy season the slate business stops for a while and starts again in the upcoming school season.
Slate tablets have been used for hundreds of years in Myanmar but locals estimate that the business will fade in coming decades. As will the memory of an older generation who learnt to read and write on the smooth stone surface.

source: Eleven Myanmar

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