Narrator: This ancient type
of handmade pottery dates back over 3,000 years.
And women in the town of Sejnane in Tunisia
still follow the same methods —
like extracting oil from leaves
and firing the pottery over an open pit.
But the work is tough,
and young people have been turning away from the craft.
Narrator: We visited a three-generation family of potters
in North Africa to see how this craft
is still standing.
Aljia Saidani has been honing her craft for 25 years,
and she still collects the clay herself.
Her daughter, Rim, often joins her.
Narrator: This terra-cotta art
is traditionally done by the women in Sejnane.
Narrator: Aljia doesn't shy away from it, though.
She crushes the clay slowly with her hands
and spreads it out to dry.
Narrator: The clay will dry after about five days
under the sun.
Making the mixture is an art of its own.
Aljia dissolves the clay in water and removes twigs,
roots, and rocks.
She sieves the dry mix into a finer powder.
Next, she adds broken pieces of pottery or crushed brick
to strengthen the clay.
With more than two decades of experience,
it's easy for her to improvise.
Narrator: She varnishes the piece with a thin coat
of white clay or red earth.
These techniques are usually passed from mother to daughter,
but Aljia learned from her mother-in-law, Jomaa Selmi,
one of the most renowned Sejnane potters in the country.
Narrator: In the past, women mostly made practical items,
like bowls, dishes, and cups.
But it's much harder to sell those nowadays,
since mass-produced plastic and metal products are cheaper.
So Jomaa got creative and designed original pieces
like vases and her signature Sejnane doll.
Narrator: Today, this is one of her most popular pieces.
But when she made her first one, it was taboo.
Narrator: In fact, breaking taboo and tradition
has been essential to stay in business.
Jomaa even taught her son the craft.
Narrator: The next step is firing the pieces
over an open flame fueled by firewood.
They add dried cow dung to intensify the heat.
Aljia monitors the fire carefully.
She can still recall how hard it was to learn this.
Narrator: Today, she's able to eye this process with ease.
And she's teaching her daughter.
Narrator: Then it's finally time to decorate.
All the colors come from nature,
and the women use no chemicals.
They grind dried leaves from the lentisk plant
to extract the oil.
Applying heat will change it from green to black.
They make the ocher red from moghra,
a clay that comes from the mountains.
The designs give Sejnane pottery its signature look.
Rim is the youngest potter in the village.
Narrator: The images Rim paints on the clay
are sometimes as old as the craft itself.
They have roots in the various cultures
of the Amazigh, who lived across North Africa
before Arabs came to the continent.
The art blends Maghrebi, Arabic,
and Mediterranean cultural influences.
Until recently, many artisans didn't know
how valuable their work could be.
Narrator: Nozha Sekik is an anthropologist
who has dedicated much of her career to protect
and document the tradition.
Narrator: Nozha was stunned
when she saw the women selling pieces for only 200 millimes,
the equivalent of about 7 cents.
Narrator: It was an unexpected visit
from tourists from Belgium
that made Jomaa realize her potential.
Narrator: Her home sits by nearby ruins
that often attract visitors, so her business grew.
Narrator: But there have been challenges.
Nowadays, it's harder to get younger generations
to learn the craft.
Narrator: Tourism slowed down
after the 2011 deadly revolution,
and businesses suffered.
Narrator: Zaineb Farhat runs a program
that helps the women market and sell their pieces.
The Sejnania project trains the artisans in sales,
marketing, business, and even women's rights.
Jomaa joined the project in 2015.
She used to sell her signature doll for 40 Tunisian dinars.
Today, she sells them for up to 500,
which is about $175.
Narrator: Today, Jomaa, Aljia, and Rim sell most
of their products through the project.
In 2018, Sejnane pottery was added
to UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Now with international recognition,
the women of Sejnane hope to keep this art alive.