In many small Malaysian villages, traditional crafts such as rattan weaving are slowly (0) ______. Young people leave for the cities, and few of them learn the skills their grandparents once practised.

Village baskets and mats are entirely (9) ___, so no two pieces are ever exactly alike. Every strip of rattan is cut, dried and shaped by hand, and one mat may take several weeks to finish. Cheap imported goods now (10) ___ these small workshops, since shoppers often choose plastic containers that cost far less. A state grant helps (11) ______ the cost of materials for young apprentices, yet the weavers still face a (12) ______ shortage of good rattan, as the forests where it grows are being cleared.

Such help is (13) ______ for keeping the tradition alive. In one district, older weavers now train teenagers after school, showing them how to blend old techniques with (14) ______ design so that the baskets suit city homes. Buyers say they are drawn to the beauty and (15) ______ of work made by hand. Every piece must (16) ______ a strict quality check before it is sold in the market or online.

Short videos posted by the teenagers themselves have helped (17) ______ awareness of the craft far beyond the village. For a few of them, weaving has quietly become a (18) ______ career rather than a childhood hobby.