How 11 Ancient Crafts Survived For Centuries | Still Standing | Insider Business

from mole ground with a traditional tool in Mexico to metal art forged with ancient wax casting techniques in India and Shea butter made by women artisans in Ghana we got an inside look at businesses around the globe to see how their centuries-old Traditions are still standing [Applause] this is camel skin it takes at least two days to manually clean it so it can be turned into pieces of art like this lamp this century-old craft is a signature trait in the ancient city of Multan in Pakistan and this is one of the last businesses that still make them Rahman nakash is proud to keep it going um [Music] in fact his grandfather started making camel skin lamps in the early 20th century and is credited for turning it into a major business for this city but younger Generations aren't interested in learning the craft and businesses have been closing [Music] so what does it take to make these lamps and how is this craft still standing cleaning and preparing the hides properly is crucial it takes hours of manual work using only this knife called rambi um work side by side well one cleans the heights until they're bleached White the other scraped the excess until it's nearly paper thin they save as much excess skin as they can um then it's time to shape the lamps Muhammad places the thin layers over these clay molds today he's working with a classic lampshade he uses the grinded excess to cover holes [Music] the top layer thin so light can pass through the final product he gets these molds from a Potter who makes them by hand using plaster and they come in all shapes and sizes Muhammad seals the piece with a mixture made of glue and washing soda and leaves it to dry in the Sun for up to four days finally it's time to paint it it takes around 10 days to finish a single lamp and Malik has to be precise and patient since one mistake can ruin the entire design color scheme design um [Music] this technique is called nakashi and it's over 900 years old artists from Multan painted designs like these on buildings monuments and masks Malik learned the technique from his father storing oil Malik's grandfather started doing nakashi art on Camel skin lamps in 1910 following the arrival of electricity in South Asia and he passed the skill down to his son Malik ashik nakash at one point there were at least 40 families involved in this business and people from across the country came to Multan to buy these but the craft has dwindled as tourism declined in Pakistan in recent decades and raw materials have gotten more expensive Malik started selling them online and managed to keep the business running small lamps sell for about 1500 rupees or seven dollars larger ones for around two hundred dollars he says these lamps can last up to a hundred years but they need to Varnish each one thoroughly to get them there this increases its shine and durability both Malik and ashfak say that younger Generations aren't entering this business and instead choosing more profitable careers they hope with educational programs and monetary support a new generation will join the craft area foreign [Music] women in West Africa have been turning Shea nuts into butter for centuries the process is hard requiring at least three women to mix one pot the yellow paste is often called women's gold and for many in Northern Ghana it's the only source of income that's why we are doing this people across Africa have used it for skin and hair care food and medicine for at least 700 years and in recent decades it's become a global sensation International customers often buy larger quantities from companies that can produce it faster making it harder for traditional farmers but the biggest threat is right in their backyard for the past four decades men have been cutting down the very tree that provides livelihood to many families we travel to Ghana to find out how despite the challenges this group of women Artisans is still standing the day starts with a two-hour Trek to the forest for many women in the town of yandudi the journey can be dangerous they have to travel in groups to avoid armed robbers lurking in the forest and they risk getting bitten by snakes when walking through the grass if you're only one or two women that goes into the push to pick it's likely that you will come back the shea tree grows along a dry Savannah belt that stretches from east to west Africa Only The Ripe Shea nuts that have fallen from the tree are ready the return home can also be physically taxing the women carry more than 25 kilograms of seeds on their heads they first wash the seeds and let them dry for a week then it's time for cracking foreign the nuts are ready when the kernel starts to Rattle against the shell only the good ones are made into butter the bad nuts are used to make a special food called kanwoo and as a fertilizer on their Farms this attention to detail such traditional shea butter apart from commercially made ones with the Machinery you pour everything in the machine so if there's bad one you will not be able to identify it Porsche assumeda has led an organization called titiaca boresa for the last three years the group provides cooking pots and training for Shea farmers in the talency district it also teaches them how to pick the best quality nuts for their product they crack the nuts into smaller pieces with a brick then roast them over an open fire until they become fragrant this helps release the oils that give shea butter its nutty taste and smell foreign is teaching her daughter she's been making shea butter for more than half her life she grinds the Shea nut Pieces by hand some Shea Farmers have invested in grinding meals to make this step easier but Acuna takes pride in sticking to the techniques that date back to the 14th century foreign the perfect working space it is the women only produce small batches at a time to ensure the quality will be consistent it's all hands on deck when it comes to mixing the Shea paste the work can be grueling and takes a lot of strength foreign they do this for one hour to get the right consistency the water activates the buck slowly it separates and floats to the top Acuna melts the butter in another fire using wood that was harvested in the forest she waits until it turns a deep chocolate color foreign the Shea oil will cool and be sold as unrefined butter the first accounts of shea butter use date back to 14th century Burkina Faso it's been used in West African households as a cooking fat and as a moisturizing Salve for skin Legend has it that even the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra appreciated the butter for its hydrating power in recent decades Global demand for shea butter has increased dramatically its healing properties and high levels of vitamins have made it the ultimate ingredient for skin care products across the world in the last 20 years alone annual exports have increased 600 percent but with new demand have come new challenges deforestation competition from bigger companies and a global pandemic have threatened the livelihoods of small-scale Shea farmers we used to get supplies from other countries like Canada US UK but when covid-19 came we never had others again faster machine run shape processing plants in Ghana have also begun taking over the market making it difficult for this group of women to keep up it takes them an entire month to produce what a big Factory can do in three days deforestation is also an ongoing battle foreign men have been cutting down Sheena trees to make charcoal for commercial use around 8 million trees are cut each year the quantity we use to get now we don't get it that way again it has reduced drastically shea butter making has sustained generations of women in Ghana today many depend on it as their only source of income mostly with this group most of them are widows they used to say widows they can't do anything for their own but now that they have their own handwork they are able to do something and end money and take home organizations like Porsches teach traditional Shea Farmers how to produce better quality butter and understand its value in the local market with this knowledge they can take home a higher profit from their sales foreign foreign the organization is also working to combat deforestation over the last two years it's planted 7 000 Shea trees in hopes of repopulating the Parklands although there are many challenges Portia sees a bright future ahead [Music] that is our business that is what we do even though it is hard to produce it but that is where we get our money from that is where we get our income young women are still interested in learning The Craft and she hopes that expanding her business will give more opportunities to people looking to learn the skill in its traditional form we like to have our own plantations we like to have our own warehouses where we can keep our share notes there for women here shea butter is a symbol of prosperity and Independence and they're determined to pass it on to the younger generation strip away the surface of these shells and you reveal a shiny layer called mother of pearl and in Thailand it's been used to make ornaments that decorate palaces and temples for over seven centuries it can take half a year and as many as 20 000 pieces to complete one inlay at 57 is one of the last Craftsmen preserving this traditional Arts it almost disappeared during the Burmese Siamese war in the 18th century [Music] so what makes mother of pearl unique and how is the centuries-old craft still standing [Music] Repton is the base of every inlay it is light and easy to shape when I was about my my arts and I like to create in the playful paths when I have something serious I looking around the natural that could help me used to be a rice farmer but today he finds inspiration in the nature that surrounds his quiet Workshop in buapakta working with the shells poses the biggest challenges it can take 30 minutes to clean and smooth the rough surface of one shell and reach the mother of pearl [Music] jukit uses the shells of turban snails but it's not always easy to get a hold of them so he buys them from India and Indonesia one kilogram of shells can cost as much as 1700 Thai baht or about fifty dollars so [Music] back up he says these last longer and hide a stunning surface inside [Music] he's careful to shape the shells without damaging them this task can be dangerous but jukit is used to it after doing it for 30 years [Music] then it's time to carve it into shape it can take over 6 hours to carve these designs on the mother of pearl but you could doesn't mind the work even when he worked in the rice fields he says he was always interested in art nowadays he enjoys carving in solitude he cuts 213 pieces for this design and places them one by one on the sketch foreign [Music] this black mixture will serve as the glue and drink it makes it himself combining the sap from the lacquer tree with burned banana leaves [Music] and this technique is a traditional what I learned he makes sure the charcoal from the banana leaves is jet black then finely pounds it with a stone mortar and pestle then he filters the liquid with a thin white cloth to remove impurities [Music] sap contains toxic oils that can cause allergic reactions so jukit wears gloves to protect his skin he covers the whole design with a thin layer of the paste foreign with wet soft sandpaper he cleans the excess lacquer of the mother of pearl he will polish and recoat it multiple times until the lacquer and mother of pearl pieces are leveled to a smooth surface the Final Touch is a layer of oil that adds a glossy look art that combined lacquer and mother of pearl thrived in Thailand During the ayutthaya period between the 14th and 18th centuries Buddhist temples like the what boram putharam had mother of pearl door panels the temple was destroyed when the Burmese attacked the ancient capital of Thailand in 1767. some doors and inlays were saved and in 2007 princess Maha chakrish sirendon assigned a group of artists to make new ones for the Temple of the emerald Buddha scripture Hall ucit says he was one of those artisans today he is one of the last in Thailand focusing on mother of pearl conservation [Music] it takes him one month to finish a small piece larger ones can take six months to a year and can cost more than two thousand dollars he sells them mainly through custom orders this ancient technique is time consuming and labor intensive and younger Generations are not interested in the craft [Music] but jukit is teaching the art to his nephew foreign [Music] statue Artisans built the mold from mud and spend hours handcrafting the intricate details using strings of beeswax eventually all of this will be lost to make way for metal [Music] tribes in India have practiced this art for 4 500 years regendra was just 10 years old when he started learning The Craft s but many Artisans were forced to quit when India rolled out a controversial economic reform that threatened their livelihoods now many are searching for more sustainable careers [Music] we traveled to chatasca in India to see how this Century's old tradition is still standing docra art is more than a job for rajendra it's a passion and his Workshop has been a staple in the town of kondagao for over 10 years he starts each day by mixing rice husk with black soil to make the clay this blend keeps the model from cracking foreign [Music] [Music] for two days this layer of wet riverbed soil helps smooth out any bumps [Music] then it's time to prepare the wax regendra uses beeswax because it's strong and allows him to create intricate designs he melts and strains it into cold water the linen cloth catches impurities like bee wings fire makes the wax more pliable and easier to shape into logs regendra adds it to this pressing machine he inherited from his grandfather press stretches the wax into meter long strings this was once done completely by hand some other communities still use that method but it takes a lot of time pretendra prepares the model for the wax smoothing the surface with a file and rubbing it with a bean leaf is slowly he wraps the strings around the model to bring his ideas to life the design he makes with the wax is printed on the wet soil underneath he has to be careful not to leave gaps between the strings designing is regendra's favorite part of the process it took him years to master and precision is key here he can spend a full day working on just one sculpture comes up with his designs on a whim and improvises as he goes okay uh foreign sculptures depict animals and deities from tribal folklore nandi is a sacred Bowl in Hindu culture and one of rajendra's most popular designs many believe it brings peace and prosperity into the home regendra has made hundreds of these sculptures over the years covers the model in another layer of soil this method of creating two layers on both sides of the wax is called Hollow casting regendra makes two holes at the base that will allow the wax to melt and make way for the molten metal covers the model in another layer of termite soil and creates a funnel around the wax strip ES regendra starts a fire in this Brick furnace and uses wood from a forest nearby he monitors the temperature throughout keeping it at around 1300 degrees [Music] the model sits in the fire for two hours until all of the wax melts away if it's too hot the model will crack and spoil a foreign with a metal rod ents he melts pieces of scrap metal including utensils and old machine parts then he pours the molten mix into the channel and waits for it to cool down dokra art gets its name from the dokra Demar the nomadic tribe that popularized the craft across the country Legend has it the tribe went from Village to Village selling the metal figurines of Hindu gods and goddesses in exchange for food the art form continued to thrive into the 2000s but that all changed in 2016. when India demonetized much of its currency in an effort to weed out illegal money in counterfeit bills overnight almost 90 percent of the cash and circulation was made worthless many customers stop buying docra art to save money it took the Indian government eight months to replace the bills in remote areas of chatterstar by the time it did many doker artists who depended on cash sales had to quit the craft to make a living yeah while dokra is still popular many Artisans are still struggling super gendra recognizes the importance of his work every time he breaks a mold and Reveals His newest creations the rising costs of raw materials is forcing them to sell their sculptures at higher prices the number of Artisans working in the trade has dropped by nearly a third in the last three decades um but it's not just about the money for rajendra his uncle jidev Bagel was recognized as a master doker Craftsman by the Indian government and even earned a statue in kondagao for his work foreign is continuing his legacy he's trained over 200 people and helps them sell their work despite the hardships he's managed to keep his business afloat he sells mainly in government-funded showrooms and makes around 40 000 rupees or 500 US dollars a month he's shown his work in exhibits across India and has won two national awards foreign but that's not the reality for most small-scale Artisans who make around 7000 rupees a month less than half the monthly average for most workers and many Joker making families are encouraging their kids to work different jobs foreign believes his Traditions molded him and he wants to do the same for future Generations [Music] foreign weaving threads of silk from cocoons is a tradition that goes back more than 1 000 years in Cambodia but about 50 years ago it almost disappeared a brutal regime killed and tortured intellectuals including Artisans who specialized in this crafts who goes by pH made it her mission to revive silkworm farming and Cambodian weaving she has spent 20 years teaching people how to raise worms and turn their silk into textiles using an ancient technique called Ikat in honor to our ancestors we visited ph's silk farm and boutique in Siem Reap to see how a new generation ensures this ancient craft still standing making silk starts from the ground up Farmers plant fields of mulberry trees for Golden silkworms to Feast on this was once a popular tree across Cambodia but most were torn out by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s to make way for Rice plantations the country's Famous Golden silkworms lost their habitat and they nearly died out foreign once the leaves are harvested workers transfer them to breeding sheds silkworms Feast on shredded leaves for 12 days before they can eat a whole one it is important to keep this space clean foreign [Music] after 25 days they turn yellow and are ready to spin workers hang them on this structure that allows airflow it takes about four days for the worms to build their yellow cocoons the best ones go to a breeding area and the rest of the cocoons will become silk workers drop them in boiling water to release the fibers [Music] they use a spatula to catch them then insert them into the spindle [Music] they reel out the silk slowly in one continuous motion so it doesn't break the outer part of the thread is rough like horse hair and they use it for cheaper scarves Artisans scrape it off to reach the inner layer and make sure the threads are even this is the best part of the silk and what they need for their Ikat textiles they wash stretch and soften the yarn by hand and hang it to dry designing and weaving just one two meter piece of fabric can take three years then am who goes by crime was an orphan when she started working here 18 years ago today she has mastered every step foreign she says the hardest part is the tie-dying technique Artisans are essentially creating the images using nods the different colored plastics represent each color in the final design they spend up to a year just tying the threads in the past people in Cambodia used banana trunks to do this is they prepare the material for dyeing using natural and Native ingredients such as tree bark turmeric and insect eggs YouTube workers add them to the boiling water they strain the mixture to create a smooth consistency then dip the knotted silk in the steaming batch the plastic knots protect sections of the pattern from the die foreign this variety of resist dyeing is called Ikat from the Indonesian word for bind or Thai when the diet part is dry workers covered with new knots and cut the plastic wrapping from the next section s we call it a foreign they'll repeat this process hundreds of times with different colors and threads they move the threads to the spinning journey and prepare them for the loom silk weaving in Cambodia dates back to the 7th century it was on the maritime Silk Road between China and India and diplomats across Asia would wear the textiles marveling at their quality the craft survived hundreds of years but it was almost completely lost when the Communist Khmer Rouge regime seized control in the mid-1970s in its drive for a peasant Utopia the regime targeted the elite and educated which included silk artisans nearly a quarter of the population was killed in what became known as the Cambodian genocide crom was only a child during the regime but she remembers her family's struggle my nightmare got one for laptop you know we only looked up to them um [Music] she says working here has changed her life today every time she sets up a loom and weaves a new piece she feels proud pH says the loom she's using is similar to the ones used in the 12th century setting it up takes one month she adjusts the shuttle regularly to make sure it aligns with the dyed Ikat pattern she adds the threads to small spindles and moves the shuttle from one side of the Loom to the other to create the design and but BH sees it as a commitment to her history and culture two decades ago she poured everything she had into starting her company golden silk pH foreign [Music] there are around five other silk Farms across Cambodia that follow these traditional techniques pH sells these silk products in her boutique to museums and art collectors because it takes years to make each piece they often sell for tens of thousands of dollars [Music] today she employs 42 people who make clothing shawls and tapestries she says it's her way of strengthening the dignity and pride of Cambodian people is foreign [Music] it will take 1 000 sheets of pure gold to cover this mask of the mythical Demon King ravana he is a main character in Tai Khan a traditional dance that depicts a battle between good and evil for 600 years Artisans have dedicated their lives to making these masks but the popularity of the dance has been dying out since the 1950s today pratip rat boy is helping to keep the art alive we went to angtong Thailand to see how the tradition of making these masks is still standing paper makes up the base of every con mask um and this clay mold will give it shape each mask requires a different kind and pradeep has made dozens over the years he covers it with petroleum jelly so the paper doesn't stick to it takes him two hours to build 10 layers of paper there are four main characters in Khan Heroes heroines monkeys and demons the depict characters from the battle between Rama and ravana two kings who represent Good and Evil monkeys make up Rama's Army of warriors fighting to save the heroine from ravana today pratip is making the mask of the demon king for a performance shapes the face with strips of white cement he's prepared foreign it's a discomfort pratip has become used to he learned Mass making from his uncle when he was 14 years old to this day many of his family members still perform Khan with the masks he creates pradeep shapes the decorative details of the crown one by one using a stencil foreign [Music] this pattern is common entire architecture often seen at Buddhist temples and monasteries [Music] there are over 300 variations of corn masks and pradeep has memorized them all [Music] foreign then it's time to cover the crown in gold other Mass makers use paint but he only uses pure leaves of 0.03 carats each Tuesday this technique is called gilding gold for a mask this size can cost 10 000 Thai baht or 260 dollars pratib is careful to not waste the brush helps him get to the narrow corners it takes him up to three hours to Guild one mask [Applause] [Music] foreign in his small Workshop pradeep uses plankwood to make the outer details like the ears then it's time to paint the colors must be vibrant so audiences can see even the smallest detail clearly on stage foreign skin is usually green or dark blue and he has Fierce facial features in the past Mass makers made paint from extracts of flowers and tree barks but now most opt for waterproof acrylic paint to save time Jewels like these can be used to signify the power of con character holds foreign he assembles ravana's three-tier crown the two heads represent his ten heads and connection to the Hindu god Brahma finally the mask is ready for performance Khan originally was only performed during Royal ceremonies in the ayutthaya period from the 14th to the 18th century the craft nearly disappeared when film and television became a more popular form of entertainment in the 1950s it regained some popularity in the 1990s when the Thai Queen City kit promoted it but it never made a full comeback nowadays performing arts schools teach the dance across the country Khan combines multiple art traditions in Thailand including sword fighting and Shadow puppetry it pulls inspiration from Buddhism and the Hindu story of ramayana students start as young as 8 years old and must endure years of training in classical dance martial arts and acting [Music] has dedicated most of her life to come [Music] but there was a time she wouldn't be allowed to do this at all up until the 18th century only men could perform even in the female roles Mani prabha has learned from her grandfather who is a master her group mainly dances at school events cultural festivals and funerals [Music] pratib believes the only way to save his craft is to preserve the tradition but the past few years have been tough since all live performances came to a halt during the pandemic pradeep didn't get new orders for months and was forced to move his Workshop away from Bangkok to save money but he managed to stay afloat nowadays he sells about two or three masks a month mainly to tourists but he still worries his craft may not survive another crisis like the pandemic that's why passing it on to the next generation is so important to him he's trained dozens of people over 40 years and he hopes his masks will continue to tell the story of Thailand's Rich culture foreign this is an ancient cooking tool called ametate women in Mexico have been using it for over 7 000 years to prepare traditional dishes [Music] spends hours grinding chilies and herbs for just one batch of mole [Music] mole is a thick Rich sauce that comes in many variations contains dozens of ingredients and can take days to cook it's also one of the most popular dishes in evangelina's restaurant La Cocina Nana Vida today she's preparing a rare kind of mole called chichilo but it's not on the menu because she only makes it for people who are in mourning [Music] Yvonne Helena has dedicated her life to preserving these kinds of traditions and methods but over the years she's watched cook swap meet that days for blunders and even turned to packaged sauces from the supermarket we visited Oaxaca known as the land of the seven moles to see how the ancient ways preparing this classic Mexican dish are still standing Evangelina buys all ingredients fresh at a local market buenos dias Chilean show negro ancho chiles are kind of dried poblano pepper that have a smoky flavor Ed oregano gracias hasta luego [Music] back at her restaurant Evangelina preps the onions garlic and sesame for roasting she's part of the zapotec indigenous group that's lived in the Oaxaca Valley for thousands of years when someone dies family usually prepare chichilo together Evangelina made this batch especially for us to be able to show the whole process she puts the meat to boil in a handmade pot because the beef will take the longest to cook in the state of Oaxaca there are seven types of mole and every family has their own variation on the recipes is stomach foreign [Music] a smooth griddle to bring out the Smoky flavors the ancho chiles go first on high heat the importance ingredients when they get the perfect roast she soaks them for about 30 minutes to rehydrate and soften them Evangelina wastes no time she roasts everything quickly since this mole has to be made faster than other kinds to make it in time for a wake the matate has been in evangelina's family for 46 years these grinding stones are carved whole out of a quarry and they can weigh more than 50 kilos practice some commercial chefs have switched to blenders to make the process faster but Evangelina says that hand crushing the ingredients makes the paste smoother and helps bring out intense flavors from the spices this is the most physically taxing step and it can take two hours just to grind the ingredients Rico Los brazosi as indigenous groups in mesoamerica have used the matate to make mole since the pre-hispanic time it's believed to have originated either here in Oaxaca or just to the North in what's now known as the state of Puebla the Spanish arrived in the 15th century and people started mixing indigenous ingredients like the native chilies with other Foods the Spanish brought so today's mole is a fusion of pre-hispanic and European cuisines but the authentic way of making it has dwindled in popularity pre-made mole paste came on the market in the 1940s blenders became popular in the decades that followed and they eventually replaced the matate altogether so you know says traditional mole still beats out the kind made in a blender is lard is one of the final ingredients she adds she melted into a pot and adds a ground paste to fry then beef broth and corn dough to make the mole thicker she stirs until the sauce is the perfect consistency Fiesta moles that are served at celebrations like one called Colorado have brighter and sweeter and some even say happier tastes but this is a funeral mole so it has a more subdued and muted taste Ivan Helena's grandmother taught her how to cook mole when she was just seven years old at 20 she learned how to make chichilo mole from the women in her community is at first making chichila mole was a heavy task for van halena because it reminded her of loss but when she realized she had a chance to preserve and share her culinary knowledge I took on a new meaning is [Music] in 2017 she registered the brand nanavita named after her grandmother she exports Her mole as well as chocolate to the U.S and sells them online and Ivan Helena's work is getting noticed this year Her chichilo mole won the award for the best ceremonial dish and another for best decoration at a traditional food festival in Oaxaca a restaurant is open for tourist groups and locals who want to eat the traditional food is important foreign [Music] she hopes her children will fall in love with cooking the same way she has and if they do they have her recipe and of course her matate um traditional [Music] this dried out pumpkin shell will be sanded cut decorated and transformed into one of the most important instruments in classical Indian music [Music] it's called a tanpura and for hundreds of years crafts people like farook Abdul majeed sitar maker have hand carved them out of gourds instead of wood his family has been making musical instruments like tanpuras and sitars for seven generations in his hometown of Mirage this city of over 500 000 people in Western India is known as a hub for classical musicians and as the birthplace of this craft um it takes at least three weeks to make just one and they cost almost three times as much as the smaller electronic versions we went to Mirage to find out how the art of turning pumpkin shells into instruments is still standing says the secret to a mirage tanpura is the shell of a bottle gourd this variety is grown specially to make instruments and must be hung to dry and Harden for a year he soaks it in water for up to two days and scrapes it clean inside and out imtia started this job when he was just 13 years old now at 44 he works alongside seven family members hand making tanpuras and sitars he cuts the shell about a quarter of the way in and scrapes out any debris left over this will become the tumba the body of the tanpura wood will make up other parts of the instrument like the sound board and the neck ensuring its good quality is crucial they season it for three years to strengthen it they take their time crafting the wood sighing carving and filing it down shaping the pieces alone can take up to 12 days but after 31 years woodwork has become India's specialty he prepares the top of the tumba for the neck joint known as the Gulu it connects the tumba to the rest of the instrument and must be fitted perfectly to ensure the best sound he uses bamboo nails that He makes himself he says they merge well with the tumba and give a more finished look these sticks of wood preserve the tumbas shape as it dries for two to three days depending on how sunny it is to make the tabli or the sound board imtiaz traces the shape of the halotumba onto a piece of wood and cuts it out he spends a day carving and shaping the tablet it takes at least a day to make the neck of the tanpura known as the Dand Yas uses a block plane to hollow out a 40-inch piece of wood he assembles the tanpura and glues the pieces with wood adhesive and Taps to check the sound he's been designing the family's instruments for over 40 years and it's a group effort eight of his relatives work together to preserve the Legacy utility [Music] hours carving peacocks flowers and Vines out of wood and strips of white plastic foreign foreign [Music] but the Indian government banned the use of it in the late 80s [Music] farook mixes coal dust with wood glue to make the black coloring [Music] polishing brings it all together but it comes at a price he adds a natural resin called Gum kopal as a final layer and scrapes up any excess polish it can take up to three weeks to make one tanpura and the family's techniques haven't changed in almost 200 years if anyone asks farook what he does all he has to say is his last name the name sitar maker is used by the instrument making descendants of the man credited for introducing the pumpkin tanpura some say the idea to use pumpkins as instruments came to Fareed sahib siddar maker in 1850. after seeing Hindu monks use the shells to store water some say it came from seeing African ships use them to transport jars of honey while other parts of India made the tanpura with Jack wood Farid found the pumpkin gave it a stronger vibration and better sound the instrument became a staple for classical singers throughout India in the late 19th century and its popularity put Mirage on the map as home to the best handcrafted instruments but when electronic tanpuras hit the market in 1979 demand for the handmade ones dwindled the family now sells only half of what they used to 25 years ago foreign [Music] is made with precision is [Music] he drills four holes to the top of the Dand this is where the pegs will go you say um the strings are made of Japanese steel that he buys from a market in Mumbai he threats them through these small beads called manka they're used to fine-tune the instrument [Music] s the bridge made of camel bone supports the strings these cotton threads called Javari help enrich the sound it takes Artisans yours to master tuning athanpura simple factors like room temperature and humidity can affect the sound so Craftsmen must have a trained ear Farooq sits for three hours tightening and loosening the strings until they sound flawless foreign Maker's reputation for high quality handmade instruments has helped them stay afloat it's why singers like subhadra Desai still use the tanpuras made by them [Music] foreign [Music] classical music for over four decades [Applause] [Music] when she was just 13 years old she got her first tanpura which was made by farooq's family foreign apps but subhadra says that while digital options may be practical they do not match the authentic tones of the original [Music] um foreign [Music] cost up to 33 000 rupees or around 400 dollars foreign a month and split the profits among themselves [Music] they worry that apathy and modern Alternatives May render the family business obsolete foreign but their deep love for music has helped them carry on the Family's Legacy is salt from bali's beaches is some of the rarest in the world it's also some of the most natural but harvesting it takes patience and a huge amount of strength gangapura is 45 years old and she's one of the last salt Farmers here in the seaside village of kusamba she spends her days carrying baskets full of seawater and pouring them on the volcanic sand to filter out the salt but salt Farmers make so little that most have left the business for better-paying jobs at nearby hotels and tourist spots foreign to see how the salt farming tradition is still standing tourists visit kusamba and nearby regions for their famous volcanic Sands but for nunga's family they've been an essential source of income for at least four generations she starts her day at six in the morning leveling sand for about an hour it's no easy task even for nanga who's been doing this since she was just 15 years old she and her husband make up to 40 round trips every day to collect water from the ocean the baskets of seawater can weigh 66 pounds even on a calm day like today it's hard to keep the balance against a swelling tide so she tries to collect water from smaller waves after 30 years she can go back and forth for hours without a break even as temperatures reach as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit the manual labor drove some Farmers to replace the buckets for machines that can pump that much water in just minutes but nunga hasn't installed one yet this fine volcanic sand sets kusamba Farm Salt apart from other kinds like that from Salt Ponds or Rock deposits it absorbs the water fast like a natural sieve leaving sun-baked Salt flakes on the surface nanga is careful to spread the water evenly because the salt won't crystallize if there's too much water in one area on a sunny day like today the water will dry by the afternoon and she collects it immediately most of the tools they use are made from local resources like this wooden rake but it's an industry dependent on the fickle weather farmers can spend weeks without income during the rainy season between October and April um an erosion is slowly swallowing up this beach foreign shrank 32.74 meters in just seven years that's nearly five meters a year the second worst rate in this region of Bali it's forced many farmers to rely on man-made sea defenses and all this risk and uncertainty is why nanga's husband has taken a second job in construction and why the couple doesn't want their two children following them into the salt fields still nanga says she enjoys it and she works hard to maintain the business she inherited from her ancestors nanga filters the salt in her hut she uses sea water to flush all of the salt from the sand and runs it through a filtration system three times until the salt is pure she pours the concentrated salt water into these troughs they're called balloon and they're what gives the salt its name traditional ones are made from coconut tree trunks banunga also uses these synthetic sheets that help the water dry faster this is the only part of the process that she's modernized more and more Farmers have been switching to these because they're cheaper and don't leak but Farmers like think it's important to stick to this traditional balloon balloon foreign [Music] like these can last up to 30 years this kind of solar evaporation is one of the oldest and most traditional techniques of harvesting salt in about one or two days the water will be gone leaving behind pyramid-shaped crystals the natural sea salt is said to be higher in nutritional value than the average table salt which is often heavily refined Farmers describe the flavor as subtle and not overwhelmingly salty and this is the only salt nanga grew up eating yes [Music] while Indonesia has one of the longest coastlines in the world bad weather and Coastal changes have affected salt production kusamba Farmers typically produce between 300 and 600 kilograms of salt a month but Indonesia Imports about 2 million tons of Cheaper salt every year meaning the farmers have stiff competition Farmers sell one kilo of balloon dried salt for about two US dollars that's more than three times the price of mass-produced salt sold in most grocery stores making it a luxury item for the majority of people that leaves Farmers with unsold stock why young leads a network for local salt farmers and he helps Artisans like nanga sell their salts salt Farmers have been turning to tourists who are willing to pay for more than just the salt itself foreign the decline of Tourism during the pandemic was a major setback for them and without the promise of a consistent livable wage this generation of farmers could be the last to continue this trade Farmers received a geographical indication certificate from the Indonesian government in early 2022 it recognizes that a product comes from a particular place and has a unique reputation because of that Farmers hope the international Prestige of the certificate will boost export sales thank you [Music] this golden fiber is considered one of India's most important crops it's called jute and it's often used to make sacks for coffee sugar and grain women from the Raj banshi ethnic group have been weaving it into floor and prayer mats for Generations sanjita sarkar learned the craft of dhokra weaving when she was 12. foreign [Music] the cheaper alternatives have flooded the market in recent decades forcing many weaving families out of business we visited the village of mohishbathan to see how despite the challenges this ancient craft is still standing eighty percent of India's jute grows on the warm and humid lands of West Bengal Farmers cut the stocks once a year during the rainy season in July they tie the jute to the wet ground to soak [Music] the bark becomes soft and the plant turns from green to Brown this trip the plant to expose the loose chewed fibers and rinse it in water it dries in the Sun for up to three days before it's sold to Artisans like Sangeeta is women in her family have practiced the craft for at least four generations foreign pulls the loose fibers and separates them she avoids the dark fibers and instead by its jute that is shiny golden brown the water Smooths and prepares the fibers for rolling she rolls it across this old piece of Tire on her leg to prepare for the next step this technique is called Pine and it helps to keep the threads the same thickness otherwise the mat may become uneven [Music] threads wrap around this homemade spindle called the taco she can sit for hours hand rolling the chute while some Weavers buy pre-rolled jute from the market sanjita prefers to do it herself she wraps the thread around her legs to form the role called Lachi and prepares them for dying foreign works with her sisters-in-law to prepare the threads [Music] weaving has been a task reserved for women in the rajpanchi tribe the community comprises 3 million people across India and they make a living mainly from farming but for centuries rajbon tree women were not allowed to work outside the home so making and selling maths was the only way for them to make money nowadays many split their time between farming household chores and weaving so it's not always easy to juggle it all they meet to bleach and color the threads once a month to save time the best dye comes from a native fruit but it's been hard to find [Music] foreign so they buy the colors from a market in Kolkata they hang the jute threads to dry for one day people in India have used jute to weave mats since 3000 BC demand for the crops took off in the mid-19th century when companies worldwide began using jute sacks to package products like coffee sugar and grain this provided jobs for millions of people in rural areas of West Bengal but when power looms entered the market in the late 19th century the need for skilled hand Weavers decreased today less than 20 percent of India's textiles are hand woven and from 1995 to 2010 the handloom industry lost 2.2 million artisans [Music] dokra mats are an essential part of the Raj banshi daily life people use them for sitting praying and sleeping foreign products made from cheaper materials are now bringing in competition is [Music] sanjita uses a traditional Loom made of bamboo and wood she inherited from her mother-in-law who built it 60 years ago setting it up is an important step that takes precision and expertise [Music] [Music] she spends hours looping and securing two to three rolls of jute through the loom pattern can take her a day and a half to weave and it's a full body activity foreign but years of weaving have taken a toll on her body [Music] sanjita sells her mats for 400 rupees around 5 US dollars but plastic mats can cost less than half of what her jute Ones cost she makes about 60 000 rupees selling her mats at craft fairs across India that's 730 US dollars a year but traveling to them is expensive and she can't afford to do it on her own so non-profit groups help her sell her products her family still mainly depends on her husband's income from farming sanjida uses her money for mad sales to pay for their two sons education goes to workshops three to four times a year to learn ways to improve our maths and make other products like bags and jackets and with the skills she's learning she mentors other women in her community she hopes more people will see the beauty in the craft the um [Music] the secret to making some of the best Bonsai scissors in the world lies in learning how to forge samurai swords hirakawa yasuhiro is one of the only blacksmiths in Japan who still makes these scissors using methods that date back to the 5th Century professional gardeners are willing to pay thousands and wait a whole year to get their hands on a pair s yasu Hero's family Workshop Sasuke has been around for 155 years but he worries it may end with him visiting me we went to Sakai Japan to see how this Bonsai scissor-making craft is still standing [Music] yasu Hero's family business is one of the last in Sakai that specializes in Bonsai scissors in addition to knives like knives these scissors start with a small piece of metal yasuhiro cuts it down to about 10 centimeters this Japanese yasugi steel because it's more durable and helps the blades stay sharp he starts with a softer kind to make the handle and the base of the blade it's the metal in an old wood burning furnace instead of a modern gas burner Because he believes the heat is more concentrated that way it takes about an hour for it to reach the perfect temperature foreign to stretch it then he switches to a manual one to perfect the round shape of the handle it is foreign to make the blade he forges a hard piece of Steel over the softer base he started with this is called Forge welding it's one of the oldest and most essential skills in blacksmithing yasu hero uses powdered borax and iron oxide to bind them and help prevent oxidation he heats the metal once more and hammers it again to flatten it into the shape of a blade these short TAPS at a low temperature make the particles finer and smaller and the metal denser and stronger slowly it'll start looking like scissors [Music] yasu hero files the handle to make it slightly rough and uneven this will help people keep a tight grip on them [Music] he uses this mold to bend the handle into its signature butterfly shape he files a straight line onto the blade to complete the signature Sasuke look the most crucial part is a technique called quenching yasuhiro heats the blade one last time at 780 degrees Celsius he can tell it's the right temperature just by looking at the color of the fire then he immediately submerges it in water the sudden change in temperature will harden the bleed he prefers to do it in the morning before the Sun is up [Music] if done incorrectly the metal can turn brittle today he's the only person in his family who's mastered all of the steps and he often works alone [Music] he Buffs the scissors to make them smooth yasuhiro says this can be exhausting is foreign both sides have to fit perfectly together Bonsai scissors have to be as sharp as a razor to make precise clean cuts it can take him a month to make one pair but it can last a lifetime yasuhiro also repairs scissors that are more than 100 years old foreign has been famous for its metal work since the 5th Century people from across the country would come here looking for knives swords and even guns yasuhiro himself comes from a long line of blacksmiths spanning 22 Generations but it was his great great grandfather satajiro who made scissors the focus of the family business in 1867. and when yasuhiro took it over in the late 60s he was determined to grow the business um [Music] but it wasn't always easy to find new customers foreign [Music] making such high quality scissors Bonsai specialist yoshikawa masakazu was willing to wait a year to get his hands on a pair S without Clean Cuts needles can turn brown and branches can wither and sometimes bad blades can stop small buds from growing up using good scissors is also essential for masakazu because Bonsai are an important symbol in Japanese and Buddhism [Music] iro says he's always learning from his customers foreign [Music] he's most proud of this 26 000 pair that took him three years to make and is decorated with gold [Music] he dreams of making another similar one coated with a wine red lacquer but it would take him at least four years and orders keep piling up foreign people can order custom scissors online or visit his Workshop in person but there may not be another successor to the brand yasu Hero has two sons but he isn't sure they'll follow in his footsteps is meanwhile he carries the responsibility of crafting better scissors on his own Mike um foreign [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Business Insider

Views: 4,833,567

Keywords: Business Insider, Business News, craft, survived, centuries, traditional, tradition, wax, mexico, Cambodian, indian, thai, japan

Id: ZRFaNF4HMyI

Length: 102min 59sec (6179 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 30 2022