Insider Business: Still Standing

Authentic panama hats are handwoven in Ecuador. The craft has sustained weavers in the small village of Puzhio for over a century, but many are now dropping the tradition and leaving the country to find more lucrative work. The weavers that remain worry the tradition will disappear from Puzhio completely.

Leading up to the Hindu festival of Diwali, artisans across India produce clay oil lamps called diyas by the thousands. But profits are small and the tradition is under threat from imported alternatives and pollution concerns.

The dala horse is a centuries-old handicraft that has become the national symbol of Sweden. Generations of Swedish artisans at Nils Olsson Dalahästar have been making hand-carved wooden horses since 1928.

Arion Press is the last printing press in the US where books are handmade from start to finish. Using machines and techniques that date back to the 1800s, these books can take years to make and cost up to $10,000 to buy. Set against the tech hub backdrop of San Francisco, this institution helps keep the traditional craft of letterpress printing alive

Chiseling metal for an entire day is just one of the eight steps needed to make a piece of Bidri art. This craft has been carried on for centuries in one area of India, but with rising costs of raw material and a huge drop in sales during the pandemic, its future is murky.

Pergamena is the last workshop in the US that turns animal skins into parchment, an ancient paper-like material that nearly disappeared after the Middle Ages. CEO Jesse Meyer runs the family leather tannery business that has been in operation since 1550

Indigenous people in Zapotitlán have been hand-making salt here for over 2,000 years. Today, producers can’t make enough money to sustain themselves. Many have abandoned their salt lands, but one producer is determined to keep his business alive.

About 25 generations of one family have made roasted rice cakes at Ichimonjiya Wasuke in Kyoto, Japan. Worshippers praying for good health at the Shinto shrine next door eat them as part of their rituals. The shop started in 1001 AD as the area was suffering from epidemics, and now the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the business

Papyrus paper originated in ancient Egypt. Today, just one village still makes the paper, but after a year without tourists, workers are struggling to keep their doors open. Saied and Atef do not have websites for their businesses. They sell their products locally in Egypt

The art of making sacred candles has been passed down in Viviana Alávez's family for 300 years. The craft nearly disappeared from the Oaxacan village of Teotitlan del Valle in the 1980s, but Viviana kept it alive with her innovative designs and break from tradition

Over a century ago, Britain’s piano manufacturers used to be industrial giants, churning out thousands of instruments every year. But now only one factory remains. Adam Cox runs Cavendish Pianos in Yorkshire to keep this traditional art from disappearing completely

Feni is a rare liquor made from cashew fruit, and it's produced only in Goa, India. While some brands are pushing to take feni to the mainstream, this family has survived by hand making small batches and selling locally

Artisans in Toledo, Spain, have been famous for their fine steel swords since the 5th century BC. But mass-production and lack of demand as weapons are threatening the hand-forged sword industry. We visited the city's last few workshops keeping the traditional craft alive

Bagpipes have been a symbol of Scottish heritage for centuries, but traditional artisans have faced stiff competition with the rise of mass manufacturing. Kilberry Bagpipes is now the last workshop in the capital city of Edinburgh where they still make them by hand

Saied Hussain has been hand making tiles out of cement for over 50 years. He says he’s one of the last still doing this work in Egypt — most other workshops couldn't withstand competition from marble and ceramic tiles. We went to Cairo to see how his business is still standing

Lock & Co. Hatters in London has been designing and selling high quality hats since 1676. It has served celebrities and royalty throughout history, withstood a bombing in WWII, and now survived the Covid-19 pandemic which was the first time in history it had to close its doors

Indigenous Mayan women in Guatemala have passed down the tradition of weaving for over 2,000 years. But when a 36-year-long civil war in the late 20th century threatened Mayan culture, wearing traditional clothing became dangerous. In the 15 years following the war, groups of women have banded together to sustain themselves and their families through weaving. We visited a group in San Juan La Laguna to see how it is fighting to keep the craft alive.

Pottery is a traditional industry in Gaza, supported by families like Sabri Atallah's. But decades of armed conflict and political strife have put these artisans' livelihoods at risk. We visited Sabri Atallah & Sons Pottery Factory before, during, and after the May 2021 attacks to see how he is keeping the craft alive

We visited India’s perfume capital, Kannauj to see how craftsmen make "attar," or natural perfumes using a centuries-old steam distillation method.

Bone carving is an ancient art form popularized by royals in India around the 16th century. More recently, a shrinking market and scarcity of materials have pushed many carvers away from the craft. Jalaluddin Akhtar and his son Akheel are determined to keep the craft alive in Lucknow

Jadurberia village is the shuttlecock capital of India where workers have been making badminton birdies for generations. But the rise of mechanized assembly lines and the popularity of synthetic shuttlecocks are threatening to shut down small factories like the Niyogi family's Dodo Shuttles

Fez hats were once a symbol of the Ottoman Empire. But after they were banned in Egypt in the 1950s, fez shops largely disappeared. We visited one of the last shops in Cairo, where Nasser Abd El-Baset has been making fezzes for over 40 years

Cacao has been a spiritual symbol for Indigenous people in Central America for thousands of years. When the modern chocolate industry took over, much of the plant's sacred use was lost. Today, people in Guatemala are bringing back the ritual of drinking pure cacao.

Seven generations of one family have been making drums at Noble & Cooley since 1854. The Massachusetts company started off manufacturing toys, but is now known for their high-end snare drums made from a single plank of wood

Shotguns have been a traditional handicraft in India-controlled Kashmir for decades, but today the Zaroo Gun Factory is one of only two family-run workshops in Srinagar. Violence in the region and crackdowns on gun licenses have decimated the business, but the Zaroos are determined to keep the craft alive

In the days leading up to Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, families in Pomuch, Mexico, take their deceased relatives' skeletons out of their tombs for their annual cleaning. The ritual is said to originate with the Mayans, and today, only Catholics here practice it. The pandemic has kept people away from the cemetery for the past two years, and younger generations are unlikely to carry on the tradition for much longer.

Swat wood carving was once a thriving craft in Swat Valley in Pakistan. The artistry dates back 2,000 years to the Buddhist period of the Gandhara region. But many shops shut down when the Taliban occupied the region in 2007. The Mustaan family fled Swat and established a new store in Lahore

Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli has been making bells since the Middle Ages. Their instruments ring out from iconic places like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Vatican. The workshop has survived nearly 1,000 years of wars and hardship, but it’s a crisis of faith that is putting pressure on the business today