A brick kiln — called a bhatta (भट्ठा) in India and Nepal — is a large industrial furnace used to fire moulded clay into hardened, durable bricks. Brick kilns are the backbone of South Asia's construction-materials supply chain, employing millions of workers and producing hundreds of billions of bricks every year.
A brick kiln, or bhatta, is a furnace that bakes moulded clay bricks at high temperature (typically 800–1,100°C) until they harden into strong, weather-resistant bricks used in construction. It is the central production unit of the brick-manufacturing industry in India and Nepal.
"Bhatta" (भट्ठा in Hindi, भट्ठा/भट्टा in Nepali) literally means brick kiln. People in the trade often say bhatta for the kiln itself and bhatta owner (भट्टा मालिक) for the person who runs it.
The most common are the Zigzag kiln, FCBTK (Fixed Chimney Bull's Trench Kiln), Hoffman kiln, tunnel kiln and traditional clamp kilns. Zigzag and FCBTK dominate because they balance output, fuel efficiency and cost.
Clay is mixed, moulded into bricks and sun-dried. The green bricks are stacked inside the kiln and fired with coal so heat travels through the stack; after firing they are cooled and unloaded as finished bricks. In continuous trench-type kilns this cycle runs around the clock.
Coal is the primary fuel for most brick kilns, though some use agricultural residue or other biomass. Because fuel is one of the largest costs, reliable and fairly priced coal supply directly affects a kiln's profitability and brick quality.
India is the world's second-largest brick producer, with roughly 140,000 brick kilns producing about 250 billion bricks annually and employing close to 15 million workers — a critical part of the construction economy.
Nepal's brick kilns are concentrated in the Kathmandu Valley — including Bhaktapur and Lalitpur — and across the Terai belt districts such as Kapilvastu, Rupandehi, Bara, Parsa and Morang.
Both are continuous trench kilns, but a Zigzag kiln routes air along a zig-zag path for more complete combustion — improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions compared with a conventional Fixed Chimney Bull's Trench Kiln (FCBTK). Many kilns are converting to Zigzag for these reasons.
Running a bhatta involves securing suitable clay land and licences, choosing a kiln type, sourcing coal and skilled labour, managing seasonal production, and selling bricks to builders and contractors. Digital platforms like Bhatta Mitra help kiln owners manage suppliers, labour and sales in one place.
Brick kiln owners can use Bhatta Mitra's e-ENT BAZAAR to sell bricks online to verified buyers and to connect with coal suppliers, transporters and labour contractors across India and Nepal — with free registration.