Malaysia · Religious Craft / Incense Making
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The hand-kneading, rolling and sun-drying of fragrant wood-powder paste onto bamboo rod cores to make joss sticks. In George Town, Penang, the craft is documented through one family workshop on Lorong Muda, founded by Lee Beng Chuan (1928–2020) and carried on by his son Lee Chin Poh until his death in 2023 aged 62. Chin Poh's Thai-born wife Piwan, who learned from her husband and father-in-law over more than a decade, was observed by CRAFT still making joss sticks there on 3 September 2026. With no identified family successor and earlier evidence of severe commercial pressure, the practice remains critically endangered despite this confirmed continuity.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not inscribed; located within George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site buffer/core zone
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