Narrator: An estimated 90%
of India's ceramic products
come from the state of Gujarat.
But the industry has struggled
in recent years.
First, companies started replacing
workers with machines,
leaving many ceramicists without jobs.
Then, weakened demand
forced many of those factories
to pause production or shut down completely.
This company has stayed afloat,
but it hasn't been easy.
Narrator: To keep potters working,
owner Mansukhbhai Prajapati
combined traditional,
handmade techniques with machinery.
Then he set out to tackle a big problem.
Many of his customers
don't have regular access to electricity.
So Mansukhbhai designed appliances
completely out of clay,
like refrigerators and pressure cookers
that don't need power.
And they had to be cheap.
Narrator: So far, his strategies
have been a success.
The company tripled
its product portfolio in a decade
and set itself apart in a region
that's been famous
for ceramics for centuries.
We visited the Mitticool factory
in Gujarat, India,
to find out how Mansukhbhai and his team
produce thousands of pieces
of ceramic cookware every day.
Mansukhbhai's family has made
ceramics for generations.
But it's only in the last 10 years
that he's made a living from it.
That's thanks to a sweet spot
between machine-made and handmade.
It all starts with the clay.
It's sourced domestically within India
or melted from old ceramics.
This machine does the melting.
It's called a boil mill.
Narrator: After 12 hours,
they get a liquid clay.
It needs to be thickened
with dry, powdered ceramic.
Narrator: It's then churned
with what's called a blunger
to stop the clay from settling.
Narrator: Once it's time to use the clay,
it's pumped into this big, metal container.
Workers pour in natural dye
for a uniform color.
Narrator: To make a pressure cooker,
they mold it using a hydraulic press.
Narrator: Workers finish it off
using this machine
called an electric chaak.
Narrator: But to make pots,
artisans use this wheel.
Much of this work is still done
the way it's always been done — by hand.
They carefully join
the top and bottom pieces
of the pot together.
It takes a lot of skill.
But an experienced artisan
can finish a piece in minutes.
Once an item is properly molded,
it goes into a rolling kiln.
Kilns like this have always
been used to cook ceramics,
but they used to be dangerous.
Narrator: Some kilns burned
plastics and old tires, too.
It was so unhealthy,
many ceramicists died young.
Narrator: But Mansukhbhai's kiln is different.
Narrator: And it cooks the clay
at the perfect temperature.
Narrator: Too little heat,
and the ceramic won't harden.
Too much heat,
and it'll crack.
Six hours later,
the items have hardened fully.
Narrator: While Mansukhbhai's ceramics
still have handmade parts,
that hasn't been the case
for most Indian companies in years.
Starting in the mid-'90s,
industrialization swept Gujarat's ceramic industry.
Machines took over
most of the production process,
and it left most artisans,
like Mansukhbhai's father, without work.
Narrator: But Mansukhbhai believed
he could do better than his predecessors.
Twenty years ago,
after reading about one of India's
most devastating earthquakes,
Mansukhbhai shifted gears
to focus on solving a huge problem.
Narrator: It took four years
to finalize the design
for the Mitticool refrigerator.
It can keep perishable food cool
for up to a week.
And it never needs electricity.
Narrator: Mansukhbhai's fridge costs $40,
about one-third the price
of an electric one.
Narrator: Because of the fridge sales,
Mitticool's production is picking up
while hundreds of other ceramic companies
in the area paused production.
In the past year, online sales have jumped,
and the company employs 150 people, mostly women.
Mansukhbhai tripled his current portfolio
of 350 products
to include handmade tiles,
exterior products, and murals.