The Pioneers in Doing the Recycling Work
kerosene lamp
kerosene lampAt the time my eldest brother was converted to sheet metal worker forty nine years ago, our financial resources were quite limited. It was not easy for my father to raise money from friends and relatives then as his old debts were not settled yet. Moreover, my brother was a novice in the trade. He had to do apprenticeship under the guidance of his ‘sifu’ [师父, Master] Uncle Chen Peng Nam [曾炳南].
Uncle Peng Nam was our back door neighbour. He was the one who encouraged my family to go into this sheet metal work business. He promised to teach my bother the skill in this trade. In return, we had to allow him to use a portion of our shop as his work site. That was the deal of mutual understanding.
Uncle Peng Nam was our back door neighbour. He was the one who encouraged my family to go into this sheet metal work business. He promised to teach my bother the skill in this trade. In return, we had to allow him to use a portion of our shop as his work site. That was the deal of mutual understanding.
Both my elder sister and I played a supporting role in helping my brother in his first business project of making a simple item, that is, to make kerosene lamps out of milk tin cans. 
Early on a Sunday morning, we were woke up by our father to go out to collect empty milk tin cans from our neighbourhood. Each one of us carried a big bamboo basket almost half as tall as our heights. We walked through the back lanes of the shop houses or residential areas as rubbish was usually dumped in the backyards. We only collected empty milk tin cans. Most of the empty tin cans were found behind the coffee shops. When our bamboo baskets were full of milk tin cans, it was time for us to go home. Once in a while, my father would bring us to a Mamak stall to have a piece of roti canai and a cup of coffee each as a reward for the mission we accomplished.
The milk tin cans that we collected were given to my mother to clean. They were soaked, cleaned and rinsed with water and left under the sun to dry. After that, my father would help my eldest brother to cut the tin cans into shapes and then shoulder them to make kerosene lamps ready for sale.
During the course of our collection of milk tin cans, there was not always incident free. Sometimes we were being chased by stray dogs. We had to use our baskets to ward off the enemies. We were also been taught to pretend to squad down to pick a stone to throw at them. This would frighten them off. Other than dogs, geese would also chase after us as we were trespassing their territory. As far as possible, we would try to avoid them by taking a detour.
As the saying goes, ‘No flower would blossom for hundred days’ [花无百日开]. Weeks later, we had to go home with empty baskets. We later found out there was a contender in milk tin can collection business. His name was Lye Teik Sing [赖德兴] living in our neighbourhood. He was a few years our senior. He woke up earlier than us to ‘sweep’ all the tin cans he could find. When it came to our turn, there was hardly any left.
Our counter move was to wake up even earlier than our keen competitor. My sister and I were already in the back lane before dawn to do the collection in the dark. Sometimes, when we were confronted with a policeman, he would advice us to go home for our own safety.
Much has been said about the needs for recycling projects in recent years. We had done it forty nine years ago without knowing that we were doing it. So to say, we are the pioneers in doing the recycling work; my sister and me inclusive. Agree?
Early on a Sunday morning, we were woke up by our father to go out to collect empty milk tin cans from our neighbourhood. Each one of us carried a big bamboo basket almost half as tall as our heights. We walked through the back lanes of the shop houses or residential areas as rubbish was usually dumped in the backyards. We only collected empty milk tin cans. Most of the empty tin cans were found behind the coffee shops. When our bamboo baskets were full of milk tin cans, it was time for us to go home. Once in a while, my father would bring us to a Mamak stall to have a piece of roti canai and a cup of coffee each as a reward for the mission we accomplished.
The milk tin cans that we collected were given to my mother to clean. They were soaked, cleaned and rinsed with water and left under the sun to dry. After that, my father would help my eldest brother to cut the tin cans into shapes and then shoulder them to make kerosene lamps ready for sale.
During the course of our collection of milk tin cans, there was not always incident free. Sometimes we were being chased by stray dogs. We had to use our baskets to ward off the enemies. We were also been taught to pretend to squad down to pick a stone to throw at them. This would frighten them off. Other than dogs, geese would also chase after us as we were trespassing their territory. As far as possible, we would try to avoid them by taking a detour.
As the saying goes, ‘No flower would blossom for hundred days’ [花无百日开]. Weeks later, we had to go home with empty baskets. We later found out there was a contender in milk tin can collection business. His name was Lye Teik Sing [赖德兴] living in our neighbourhood. He was a few years our senior. He woke up earlier than us to ‘sweep’ all the tin cans he could find. When it came to our turn, there was hardly any left.
Our counter move was to wake up even earlier than our keen competitor. My sister and I were already in the back lane before dawn to do the collection in the dark. Sometimes, when we were confronted with a policeman, he would advice us to go home for our own safety.
Much has been said about the needs for recycling projects in recent years. We had done it forty nine years ago without knowing that we were doing it. So to say, we are the pioneers in doing the recycling work; my sister and me inclusive. Agree?
No comments:
Post a Comment