How are cement tiles made?

Cement tiles are crafted by sifting white cement, adding pigments for color, and using stencils for intricate designs. The mixture of sand, cement, and limestone is crucial to solidify the pattern within seconds, allowing Syed Hussein's team to produce up to 150 tiles daily. These tiles are then sold for 500 Egyptian pounds per square meter.

What is Feni and how is it made?

Feni is a rare liquor made from cashew fruit, a centuries-old tradition in Goa, India, upheld by the Gankar family. The family handpicks ripe cashew fruits daily, extracting the juice through traditional methods. The juice ferments for two to three days before being distilled into Feni with 40 to 45% alcohol content. The Gankar family sells around 175 liters of Feni per season, earning approximately 50,000 Indian rupees.

How do bone carvers create lampshades?

Bone carvers in Lucknow, India, like Jalaluddin, source bones from butchers due to material scarcity and legal restrictions. Jalaluddin cuts bones into smaller pieces, shaves them with an electric sander, boils them with baking soda, files down edges, and glues them together to form lampshades. He drills tiny holes in the bones, submerges them in hydrogen peroxide, and polishes them with a buffing machine, assembling them into various lamp shapes.

What is the process of making traditional perfume in Kanoge, India?

In Kanoge, India, workers distill roses to create traditional perfume called attar through a time-consuming process with no industrial machinery. The distillation involves sealing containers with clay and cotton, using an earthen oven to boil water and flowers for hours to extract fragrant water. Workers meticulously align feathers with glue, bind them together with thread, apply epoxy for security, and weigh each shuttlecock before packaging for sale.

How are bagpipes handcrafted at Kilberry Bagpipes?

At Kilberry Bagpipes in Edinburgh, crafting a bagpipe involves four days of intricate handwork, shaping, decoration, and tuning. Dave Wardle, the craftsman, uses African black wood for its tonal quality and durability. The bagpipes are meticulously tested for tuning, quality, and playability before being shipped worldwide, specializing in the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe.

16 Fascinating Traditions That Survived Centuries | Still Standing Marathon

Business Insider・70 minutes read

Cement tiles, Feni liquor, custom hat shaping, bone carving, traditional perfume making, shuttlecock production, pottery, bagpipe crafting, snare drum making, cacao drinking, and wood carving are all traditional crafts facing challenges or prospering in different regions worldwide. These crafts embody cultural heritage and skilled craftsmanship, often passed down through generations, emphasizing quality and tradition amidst changing economic and social landscapes.

Insights

Syed Hussein maintains a traditional process of crafting cement tiles in Egypt since the 1800s, using white cement, pigments, and stencils to create intricate designs, producing up to 150 tiles daily.
The bone carving tradition in India, shifting from ivory to camel or buffalo bones due to bans, faces challenges like material scarcity and legal restrictions, with artisans like Jalaluddin crafting intricate lampshades through a painstaking process involving boiling, filing, gluing, drilling, and polishing bone pieces.

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Recent questions

How are cement tiles made?
Cement tiles are crafted by sifting white cement, adding pigments for color, and using stencils for intricate designs. The mixture of sand, cement, and limestone is crucial to solidify the pattern within seconds, allowing Syed Hussein's team to produce up to 150 tiles daily. These tiles are then sold for 500 Egyptian pounds per square meter.
What is Feni and how is it made?
Feni is a rare liquor made from cashew fruit, a centuries-old tradition in Goa, India, upheld by the Gankar family. The family handpicks ripe cashew fruits daily, extracting the juice through traditional methods. The juice ferments for two to three days before being distilled into Feni with 40 to 45% alcohol content. The Gankar family sells around 175 liters of Feni per season, earning approximately 50,000 Indian rupees.
How do bone carvers create lampshades?
Bone carvers in Lucknow, India, like Jalaluddin, source bones from butchers due to material scarcity and legal restrictions. Jalaluddin cuts bones into smaller pieces, shaves them with an electric sander, boils them with baking soda, files down edges, and glues them together to form lampshades. He drills tiny holes in the bones, submerges them in hydrogen peroxide, and polishes them with a buffing machine, assembling them into various lamp shapes.
What is the process of making traditional perfume in Kanoge, India?
In Kanoge, India, workers distill roses to create traditional perfume called attar through a time-consuming process with no industrial machinery. The distillation involves sealing containers with clay and cotton, using an earthen oven to boil water and flowers for hours to extract fragrant water. Workers meticulously align feathers with glue, bind them together with thread, apply epoxy for security, and weigh each shuttlecock before packaging for sale.
How are bagpipes handcrafted at Kilberry Bagpipes?
At Kilberry Bagpipes in Edinburgh, crafting a bagpipe involves four days of intricate handwork, shaping, decoration, and tuning. Dave Wardle, the craftsman, uses African black wood for its tonal quality and durability. The bagpipes are meticulously tested for tuning, quality, and playability before being shipped worldwide, specializing in the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe.