Pressing Oil With Giant Logs

Pressing Oil With Giant Logs In Guizhou, China, these women are operating a traditional wooden press to extract camellia seed oil using a massive swinging timber. Instead of motors or hydraulic pumps, they rely on the weight and momentum of a suspended log. The process requires careful timing. Workers pull the heavy timber backward, then guide it forward like a pendulum. Each swing delivers a strong impact against a wooden wedge inside the pressing mechanism. Repeated strikes drive the wedge deeper, gradually increasing the pressure on prepared camellia seed cakes. The timber acts as a battering ram, converting gravitational potential energy into kinetic energy during each swing. Its heavy mass helps deliver powerful impacts, while the wedge converts those blows into compression. As pressure builds, camellia oil slowly drains into a container below. This traditional technique requires teamwork, coordination, and physical effort, using basic mechanical principles to extract edible oil without electricity. #camelliaoil #oilpressing #traditionalcraft #chineseculture #oilproduction