00:05I grew up in a studio. It's my playground and the place where I used to play was a clay
00:10and now I'm still playing but more professional inside.
00:19A workshop can be a classroom, a workplace and a family archive.
00:23In traditional craft, skill and design survive because someone learns them and passes them on.
00:29Across Uzbekistan, different regions have developed their own traditions.
00:33Our journey begins in Fergana, where those skills are still alive inside local workshops.
00:39For more than 40 years, Muhammad Ali Yunusov has been turning wood into art.
00:45A first generation's master, he is now Uzbekistan's people's master, has trained more than 1,000 apprentices.
00:51His family continues the tradition today, while generations of craftsmen he has taught are still keeping Fergana's wood carving heritage
00:59alive.
01:05In Foukat district, Yunusov begins with local wood. Preparing it can take months.
01:11We have to make a lot of crafts and
01:18in the first generation of new craftsmen.
01:29We will leave the fish as well as in other cities.
01:35We have to make a lot of crafts, fish and wildlife.
01:39We have to make a lot of things.
01:40The tools may be traditional, but technology has also entered the workshop.
01:59The knowledge is also passing to younger hands. Samandar Tahirov joined the workshop at 14.
02:17Not far away, another workshop offers a different window in Tafirgana.
02:22Here, traditional craft also provides work for local women.
02:45In six years, the center has trained more than 500 women and girls. More than 100 now work with the
02:51enterprise.
03:06The showroom is filled with dolls, bags, hardware and clothing.
03:21For visitors, the showroom brings all of that work together in one place.
03:29More than 100 products, all inspired by local traditions.
03:33This is how Sadavkat is putting Fergana's craftsmanship on display.
03:37Her showroom has become a destination for visitors to the region, bringing together traditional designs, local production and distinctly Uzbek
03:45style under one roof.
03:50Our final stop is Tashkint, home to one of Uzbekistan's best known ceramics families.
03:57Seven generations, one craft and the traditions still take new shape.
04:02At the Rahima workshop, ancient Uzbek techniques meet contemporary creativity, because keeping a traditional life also means allowing it to
04:11evolve.
04:13Here, family identity matters, but every generation also leaves its own mark.
04:19In our human identity, we have our own style. It was a green and black color combination, which was really
04:24popular in the 17th century in Tarket.
04:27So this color combination design needs to always live and inspire us, even to the next generations as well.
04:33Clay itself, it dictates you which kind of ship you'd want to turn.
04:36So I'm also trying to add some more new touches as well.
04:41Three workshops, three different crafts and one common lesson.
04:44Mastery takes time.
04:45These traditions survive because someone learns them, practices them and passes them on.
