By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya Courtesy The Morning

• Saterra Pottery Founder Bhagya Senanayake on the industry’s potential and barriers to development

Clay is a material many of us are familiar with, whether we come across it in the form of cookware, as a medium of art, or in construction. However, the industry remains largely untapped, with its potential going unnoticed and uses being limited for years. Shedding light on this was Bhagya Senanayake, who is not only involved in Salruk, her family’s terracotta business established three decades ago, but is also adding a modern touch to this age-old industry.

In conversation with The Daily Morning Brunch, Senanayake spoke about the brands, the need to develop the industry and what makes it stagnate.

Tell us a bit about yourself and the work you do.

Coming from a family background that has been in the terracotta industry since 1992, most of my life was spent around clay, pottery, designs, and everything eco-conscious. I’d consider myself as a marketer before I stepped into entrepreneurship, as I spent almost three and a half years in the corporate world and made a conscious decision to join my family business full-time, trying to put all the theoretical knowledge acquired from my bachelor’s degree and master of business administration (MBA).

However, it is only when you get to the functional level that you realise that what’s in the books is not there in the real world, which is why entrepreneurship came in handy for me as I decided to play the 360-degree role overlooking all functions in the business. My family business, which goes under the brand name Salruk, is one of the pioneers and oldest terracotta brands in the country that has been mostly exporting its products for the past three decades. We manufacture a wider portfolio of products, mainly an indoor and outdoor range of pots. So, following in the footsteps of my father, whose brainchild is Salruk, I decided to venture into a business of the same industry under a different brand name that goes as Saterra Pottery and with different offerings. This in fact commenced as a partial requirement for my MBA final year project.

Where does your interest and skill in terracotta clay come from? How has your family influenced your decision to move into this field?

A three-decades old family business has been my main point of interest that dragged me towards this beautiful field of clay industry. As a child, when I went with my father for business-related meetings and visits, I witnessed what an untapped field clay industry was, though it has been existing since historic days. This industry has been stagnant for many years due to diverse reasons.

On one side, local pottery artisans who are really skilled are unwilling to shift from traditional manufacturing to modern methods. They are also not very knowledgeable on the quality needs of the market. Similarly, government authorities established to uplift these artisans are not doing their best in motivating them to innovate and manufacture quality clay products. Due to all these reasons, the clay industry in Sri Lanka has always remained at the same place since the good old days.

Being a person that is really passionate about this craft, seeing it falling apart is traumatic. If our neighbouring country India could produce some great brands in clay such as Mitticool, why not Sri Lanka was the simple question that I sought answers for. Our local artisans are highly dependent on the support of the Government but I strongly believe development of a business begins when it is independent enough to do things on its own. We should not always wait till the Government gives us everything. So with the support of my family business, I wanted to create a sustainable brand for the Sri Lankan terracotta industry.

Tell us a bit about terracotta clay, what it’s like working with it, and how it differs from other clays?

There are different types of clay we could find from this earth’s surface. A few well-known clays are porcelain (bone china), ball clay, stoneware, and earthenware. Terracotta fits into the latter which is the earthenware category. In other words, terracotta means baked clay, and is one of the oldest clays used by potters as it is porous in nature with high plasticity (flexibility).

Its colour tones are mostly brown or orange as they are fired at a maximum temperature of 1000 degrees Celsius, whereas a porcelain ware could go to 1200 degrees or more. Working with terracotta is similar to a meditation as it is soft in texture; even after being fired, terracotta products are soft compared to ceramics due to its high plasticity nature.

Your newest venture is Saterra Pottery. Tell us a bit about it.

At Saterra, we manufacture a range of clay products that are mostly lifestyle related. As the entire world is rapidly shifting towards eco-consumerism, we are innovating newer homeware designs for eco-conscious customers to replace their non-degradable and non-recyclable utensils for a recyclable material. So, we manufacture products such as clay mugs, pitchers, dispensers, filters, plates, serving dishes and many ornamental artefacts. We source all materials from local vendors and adapt modern manufacturing methods instead of the traditional wheel throwing method to retain the consistency in quality of the product.

What does the Saterra Pottery team look like?

The team comprises eight members out of which five are in production and the rest in other functions. We are a small team as we are a start-up with less than a year in operation. Most of our team members are all-rounders, as they are involved with production, finishing, packaging, quality inspection, selling, and administration. But most importantly the production team comprises an expectant mother, a widower and a retired artisan. One of the main purposes of our business is to provide employment for socially marginalised groups in society. Though the productivity we require is hardly achieved through them, the satisfaction of providing them employment makes the business sustainable and the knowledge and experience these artisans have of working with clay cannot be acquired from anywhere else.

Saterra adds a modern twist to an age-old craft. How do you do this?

As I have mentioned, clay has been a craft practised since historic times even in Sri Lanka, where findings have proved that people have used clay to make vessels used for cooking and serving food and drinks. If you have had a chance to visit the Archaeological Museum in Sigiriya, you would have seen the fascinating clay vessels used by communities those days. So, Saterra intends to modernise these designs, making them more user friendly, rich in functionality and pleasing in aesthetics, so that the modern customers can consume an environmentally-friendly product suitable within the modern context.

What role does innovation and creativity play in your venture?

Innovation and creativity are the heart of this business as we are constantly looking at avenues to introduce something new to our customers, something that they hardly expected could be replicated in clay. The world demands for innovative products irrespective of the material used, so Saterra caters to this gap.

How do you come up with new products and designs?

New product inspiration often comes out with an unplanned brainstorming session with my family and closest friends who constantly support Saterra. Our part-time interior designer, who is also my brother, is the individual who adds the technical aspect to our new product ideas and fine tunes them to make them a fitting actionable design.

What challenges are unique to your field and how do you overcome them?

Challenges are plenty; as for any business, it would be with the current recessionary climate in the country. As a cottage industry that is less valued keeping the costs of production at lowest levels possible is one of the greatest hindrances. Though we do not depend on many imported materials, the cost of operating the supply chain itself has multiplied ever since the economic downturn. We do not feel it is ethical to pass the entire cost increases to our customers. Therefore, we look at avenues to add value to our products constantly and minimise our costs without compromising on the quality aspect.

The challenge of attracting young talent to this industry has been severe. When we look at the business with a long-term view, it is necessary that we plan ahead for an upcoming workforce crisis as employing skilled artisans is essential. However, as the industry has not been adequately attractive in terms of the monetary aspects for the youngsters to enter, the ability to find young artisans is challenging. Nevertheless, we are working on methods to maintain the balance between handmade and automation aspects.

Do you have anything new and exciting planned for Saterra this year? What can you tell us about these plans?

We do have a line of products waiting to get launched this year and we also have become successful in acquiring a couple of export orders that will soon start phasing out in the upcoming months. Moreover, we are looking at adding experiential angle to our business by hosting events for the interested pottery enthusiasts.