Insider Business: Still Standing

Paper factories in Sanganer, India still produce each sheet one by one. The industry has withstood colonization and foreign competition since papermaking communities first arrived in India around the 16th century. We went inside Kalpana Handmade Paper Industries to see how the craft is still standing

Craftsmen spend hours meticulously producing Ajrak by mapping out the pattern on thick, starched cotton fabric that holds its rigid shape. Despite cheap, machine-made copies flooding the market, Imran Soomro and his family are determined to keep the craft alive in Bhit Shah, Pakistan

Dong Ho is a traditional Vietnamese folk art. These paintings used to be a common part of home decor during each Vietnamese New Year. Today, just two family lines are left making this art in Dong Ho village

This three-generation family of potters follows the same methods from over 3,000 years ago. The terra-cotta art is traditionally made by the women of Sejnane. We visit Jomaa, Aljia, and Rim in Tunisia to see how their craft is still standing

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, gas prices in Europe hit an all-time high. But glassblowers in Murano have been shutting off their furnaces since last year, when Europe's ongoing gas crisis began. It all comes at a time when the trade is already struggling to bring in the next wave of artists to carry on the legacy of Venetian glass

Ukrainian’s Hutsul ethnic minority is keeping a century-old weaving tradition alive by using the same tools and techniques that their people have for generations. In war and in peace, they’re determined to keep their craft alive, and they sell their blankets on Etsy

Aranmula kannadi is a sacred mirror made only in the Indian town of Aranmula. The formula for the reflective alloy has been kept secret for centuries. Sudhammal J and her family work 10-hour days handcrafting these distortion-free mirrors, all to carry on a family legacy

For over sixty years, Sayed Al-Mataany has been using thousand-year-old, Ancient Egyptian methods to carve hieroglyphs into vases and sculptures — but major blows to Egypt’s tourism industry have caused a steady decline in the number of tourists coming to Luxor to buy his ornaments. We went to Luxor in Egypt to see how his business is still standing

It can take 4 years to make one batch of barrel-aged soy sauce. The natural fermentation process was the norm in Japan for centuries, but when industrialization swept the nation, almost all the country's wooden barrels were replaced with steel ones. Yasuo Yamamoto is on a mission to revive barrel-making and preserve the authentic version of Japan's staple seasoning

For centuries, Koreans have been using onggi to store and ferment foods. Jin-gyu Heo is the youngest of the 20 remaining master potters who make these earthenware pots. We visited Jin-gyu's workshop, in Ulsan, South Korea, to see how this ancient craft is Still Standing

Tanners at the Chouara Tannery have been transforming animal hides into leather since the 11th century. The tanning process has gone unchanged since then, but it relies on heavy chemicals that threaten the health of workers. Some say they are not willing to take that risk. We traveled to the world’s oldest leather tannery in Fez, Morocco, to find out how this ancient craft is still standing

Banarasi silk saris flourished in Varanasi, India since the 16th century. Weavers in the city are working to keep the tradition alive by weaving intricate designs with gold and silver zari threads on handlooms that are over 200 years old

Kushti is a traditional mud-wrestling sport in India with roots dating back 2,500 years. Wrestlers leave their hometowns as children to live and train at wrestling academies, called talims. The lifestyle is extremely disciplined: They wake up at 4 a.m. to train six days a week and rarely get the chance to see their families. We went inside the Gangavesh wrestling school in Kolhapur to follow one of the top fighters there, Mauli Jamdade, to see what it takes to be a mud wrestler

One sheet of traditional Vietnamese dó paper can last 800 years. Only a few families in Bac Ninh province still put in the weeks it takes to transform a piece of bark into a single sheet. But industrialized paper mills have brought this craft to the brink of extinction. So how is this centuries-old craft still standing?

Artisans in Multan in Pakistan are famous for making camel skin lamps using a naqashi painting technique that goes back 900 years. In 1910, Ustad Abdullah Naqash started doing naqashi art on camel skin. Today, his grandson, Malik Abdul Rehman Naqash, is keeping the tradition going

Women in Ghana have been turning shea nuts into butter for centuries. People across Africa have used it for skin and hair care, food, and medicine for at least 700 years. But for the past four decades, men have been cutting down the very tree that provides livelihood to many families. We traveled to Ghana to find out how despite the challenges, this group of women artisans is Still Standing

Jukkit Suksawa is a Thai artist who has been creating traditional mother-of-pearl inlay for the past 30 years. He is determined to keep this 14th-century ancient tradition alive by doing every step the traditional way. His pieces feature Thai motifs like the lotus flower

Dhokra art is one of the world’s oldest art forms. The metal-casting craft has been practiced by tribal families throughout India for 4,500 years. But following an economic reform in 2016 and the rising cost of raw materials, the future of this craft may be in jeopardy

In Cambodia, golden silkworms spin cocoons that are turned into textiles worth upwards of $10,000. The ancient art form was nearly lost during the deadly Khmer Rouge regime of the late 1970s — but one woman is working to preserve the legacy

Prateep Rodpai has been handcrafting Khon masks for over 40 years. Performers wear them in Khon, a traditional Thai dance that's been practiced for 600 years. The art nearly disappeared during the Digital Age, but it faced its biggest challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic

Indigenous women in Mexico still make mole sauce using ancient tools like the metate grinding stone. We visit chef Evangelina Aquino Luis of Nana Vira in Oaxaca to see how she makes her chichilo mole for funerals

The Sitarmakers of Miraj in India have been crafting musical instruments out of pumpkins for almost 200 years. They are known for making the tanpura, a string instrument used by classical singers to find the perfect tone. The family gained a reputation for high-quality handmade instruments over seven generations. But now, cheaper electronic ones are threatening their business

Balinese palung salt is made by harvesting seawater from Bali's beaches and evaporating the water using coconut tree trunks. We visited Kusamba village in Bali to see how a community of coastal farmers are preserving their ancient salt-making methods

Women of the Rajbanshi tribe in West Bengal, India, have been weaving jute into mats, bags, and other products for generations. Many depend on the craft to make their livelihoods. But mass-produced mats are flooding the market and threatening to put them out of business

Hirakawa Yasuhiro is a master blacksmith for Sasuke in Sakai, Japan, who forges scissors with techniques that were used to make swords, knives, and weapons. Japanese-style gardeners like Yoshikawa Masakazu are willing to wait a year to get their hands on a pair of scissors that’s perfect for maintaining bonsai trees