인도 전통 쿨하드 장인들의 투쟁 ### 인도 전통 쿨하드 장인들의 투쟁

### 쿨하드의 회복력: 전통적인 점토 컵, 현대의 도전에 직면하다
* 🥤 쿨하드라고 불리는 이 점토 그릇은 인도 아대륙에서 **5,000년 전으로 거슬러 올라가는 역사**를 가진 세계에서 가장 오래된 일회용 컵으로 알려져 있습니다.
* 👷 자야프라카시 프라자파티와 그의 가족은 매일 **약 2,500개의 쿨하드**를 생산하는데, 이는 저렴한 플라스틱과 종이 대체품의 등장에도 불구하고 이 전통 컵에 대한 지속적인 수요를 입증하는 증거입니다.
* 💰 카시나트 콜레와 같은 공급업체는 쿨하드를 **개당 0.5루피** 정도에 구매하지만, 종이컵은 **5분의 1루피**에 가까운 가격으로 구매할 수 있어 마진이 적은 비즈니스에 더 매력적으로 다가옵니다.
* ☕ 쿨하드 지지자들은 차는 진흙에 담았을 때 더 맛이 좋다고 주장하며, 연구에 따르면 **플라스틱 컵은 뜨거운 액체에 비스페놀 A(BPA)와 같은 유해 화학물질이 용출**되어 건강 문제를 일으킬 수 있다고 합니다.
* 🌍 쿨하드는 **생분해성이 뛰어난**다는 평가를 받고 있지만, 소성 점토는 **내구성이 떨어지고 반드시 친환경적인 방식으로 폐기**되는 것은 아니기 때문에 현실은 복잡합니다.
* 🚂 인도 기차역에서 쿨하드에 차를 담아 제공하는 것과 같은 정부 이니셔티브는 전통 장인을 지원하기 위한 것이었지만, **쿨하드 생산의 미래는 여전히 불확실**합니다.
* 🔄 현대의 재료와 가격 변동으로 인한 어려움에도 불구하고 자야프라카쉬는 **쿨하드 제작 환경을 개선**하고 쿨하드의 유산을 유지하기 위해 여전히 자신의 기술에 전념하고 있습니다.

차 전문점이 점점 더 저렴한 플라스틱과 종이컵을 선호함에 따라 쿨하드 장인들은 생존을 위해 고군분투하고 있습니다.

Narrator: These little clay
vessels might be the oldest disposable cups in the world. Evidence of their use in the
Indian subcontinent goes back 5,000 years. That's the end of the Stone Age. Traditionally, they're meant

to be sipped from and tossed out. The cups are called kulhads or kulhars or bhar or shikora,
depending on who you ask. Whatever you call them,
the convenient cups have nearly always been
the preferred vessel

for tea shops throughout the country. Enter single-use plastic and paper. Today, more and more
tea shops are giving up their traditional kulhad
in favor of alternatives, which means less income
for kulhad craftsmen. Narrator: Cheaper prices make

to businesses that can end up going through thousands of cups a day. But proponents of the kulhad say that plastic is bad for your health, bad for the environment, and bad for business. The reality is a bit
more nuanced than that.

Is the simple kulhad really
better than a plastic cup? And how long will it stick around? We went to Kolkata, India, to see how traditional clay teacups still stand despite the rise of paper and plastic. Jayaprakash Prajapati's workday
lasts longer than the sun's.

From 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., he and his family make about
2,500 kulhads each day. He estimates he's made
over 10 million cups since he started 25 years ago. Narrator: Their design
is deceptively simple.

Unpainted, handleless
vessels for drinking tea. Narrator: It's a design that's been
perfected over thousands of years by generations of craftsmen in India. Narrator: It's hard, relentless work. Narrator: After unloading the
previous day's batch from the oven,

workers prepare the clay for
today's array of kulhads. Narrator: They use a wire and their feet to slice and mix the clay,
evening out its consistency and making it easier to work with. This clay, fresh from the ground,

is the only ingredient
in Jayaprakash's kulhads. And it gets more
expensive year after year. Narrator: He has no choice but
to purchase from local sellers at whatever price the potters' union sets. The cost of importing clay would eat into

what little profit he already makes, and he can't use just any soil. Narrator: Before it's ready
to shape into kulhads, bits of stone and grass need
to be removed from the clay. Pebbles could cause the
cups to explode in the oven,

and grass could burn away and leave holes. Narrator: Traditionally,
it's men who make kulhads, but everyone in
Jayaprakash's household works to keep up with demand. Narrator: The tea shops he
supplies expect deliveries daily.

Narrator: At its current
size, Jayaprakash's workshop can only manage to produce
around 2,500 cups a day. This makes it difficult to
create any sort of back stock, meaning the workshop has to be
in perpetual production mode.

Narrator: The air-dried kulhads
are laid out in a series of tight concentric circles
and fired overnight. Narrator: This formation efficiently bakes up to 10,000 kulhads at a time. But right now, it's monsoon season, 

which means even after
a night in the oven, the kulhads might not be dry. Narrator: Setbacks like this make
it even harder for Jayaprakash to keep up with the already
overwhelming demand. Narrator: Paper and
plastic cups are cheaper 

and more convenient than kulhads, making them an appealing alternative to tea shops operating
on razor-thin margins. Vendors like Kashinath Kole
buy cups from Jayaprakash for about half a rupee apiece. He can get paper cups for close
to a fifth of a rupee apiece. 

Despite the markup, most
of the 100 to 150 cups of tea he sells each day come in kulhads. Narrator: Kulhad proponents are adamant that tea sipped from clay tastes better. Narrator: With plastic, 
it's more than flavor 

that seeps into your tea. Numerous studies have shown that
hot liquids in plastic cups, as well as paper cups coated with plastic, can leach microplastics and a chemical called
bisphenol A from the container. Even in fine amounts, bisphenol A, or BPA, 

has been linked to cancer,
reproductive issues, problems with brain development, and many other diseases and dysfunctions. Research on microplastics is limited, but they're associated
with a similar laundry list of potential issues. There's no evidence that drinking from a kulhad
has any negative effect 

on a person's health. But what about making a kulhad? Narrator: The kulhad might
not be as eco-friendly as it's chalked up to be, either. Kulhad proponents claim that because the cups are made from earth, 

they are easily biodegradable. But there haven't been any
formal studies about this. Adding moisture to air-dried
clay easily dissolves it, but fired clay is chemically
changed into a more durable material. The reason we even know
kulhads have been used 

for 5,000 years is that modern
archaeologists were able to find surviving examples of them. Some craftsmen will bake their kulhads at lower temperatures to make the final product
more easily disposable. But most kulhads aren't composted 

or handled in any specific way. When he's done drinking, Sumit's kulhad will go into the trash. Narrator: Despite the immense challenges, Jayaprakash is determined
to keep making kulhads. He hopes to make more profit
in order to improve conditions 

and hire new craftsmen. Narrator: Kulhad prices
are set by a union, so Jayaprakash has no control over them, and if prices get too high, tea shops might turn away
from them completely. The Indian government has made efforts 

to support kulhad craftsmen in the past. Like in 2020, when the
railways minister announced that all of India's trains and 7,000 stations would serve
tea exclusively in kulhads. The initiative started
with only 400 stations. 

More joined over the years, but progress appears to have stalled. Despite initiatives like these, kulhad craftsmen are dwindling. Narrator: Jayaprakash says he doesn't feel like he's competing with other craftsmen. Narrator: Plastic has already taken over

a previous arm of his business. Narrator: His family has
relied on this workshop for almost a hundred years, but its future is uncertain.

Can India’s 5,000-Year-Old Disposable Clay Tea Cups Compete With Single-Use Plastic?

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Business Insider

Introduction to Kulhads and their decline

Kulhads, ancient disposable clay cups, are facing competition from plastic and paper cups.

They have traditionally been used in tea shops across India.

The shift towards plastic and paper cups is impacting kulhad craftsmen's income.

Cheaper alternatives are appealing to businesses.

The documentary explores the challenges faced by kulhad makers in Kolkata.

Jayaprakash Prajapati and his family make approximately 2,500 kulhads daily.

The process involves preparing the clay, removing impurities, and shaping the cups.

Only locally sourced clay is used, increasing costs yearly.

Impurities in the clay can cause problems during firing.

The entire family participates in the production to meet daily demands.

The workshop operates in perpetual production mode due to high demand and lack of storage.

Kulhads vs. Alternatives: Economic and Environmental Considerations

Paper and plastic cups are cheaper and more convenient.

Despite the price difference, many tea shops still prefer kulhads.

Studies show that plastic and paper cups leach harmful chemicals into hot liquids.

The environmental impact of kulhads is debated; fired clay is not easily biodegradable.

Jayaprakash aims to increase profits and hire more craftsmen.

Kulhad prices are controlled by a union, impacting profitability.

Government initiatives to promote kulhad use have had limited success.

Competition from plastic has impacted Jayaprakash's business.

The future of the century-old family workshop is uncertain.