A series on villages that still live by hand, and the people trying to keep their crafts alive in a changed world.
Every craft village holds knowledge that was never written down: which clay suits which glaze, how long a fire should burn, which weather is right for drying paper or bamboo. This series visits each village to record that knowledge from the people who practise it.
Bat Trang is more than a place to buy ceramics. Walk its lanes slowly and you can read a whole body of knowledge about clay, fire and glaze, passed down by hand over generations.
In every firing there is one person rarely named: the kiln keeper. They read the fire with their eyes, their nose and a lifetime of experience.
The lanterns that light the old town every evening are handmade from bamboo and fabric. Behind them is a craft tied to Hoi An's trading history.
