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Three people sitting on the floor of a room surrounded by shelves filled with neatly arranged round and cylindrical paper mâché items, engaged in crafting activities. A stove is positioned in the center, providing warmth to the room.
Lifestyle

Demand for Christmas ornaments hand-crafted in Kashmir drops amid US tariffs

The Christmas season is usually busy for artisans in Indian-controlled Kashmir, who make Christmas ornaments to sell worldwide. But this year, demand has decreased because of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in the US.

The World

Artisans at a workshop in Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir make Christmas ornaments to sell worldwide.

Syed Shahriyar/The World

In the months leading up to Christmas, artisans in Indian-controlled Kashmir are generally busy making ornaments that end up on Christmas trees around the world.

They work in home-based workshops using a traditional papier-mâché technique.

Typically, they have to hustle to fill orders, but this year, because of US tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, demand has significantly dropped.

Syed Shahriyar visited some of these artisans in the city of Srinagar and gathered images of their work.

Click on the player to hear the story.

A collection of colorful, hand-painted decorative balls with floral and abstract patterns, displayed on a blue patterned fabric background.
Once dried into round ornaments, traditional Kashmiri artists hand paint and decorate each piece.Syed Shahriyar/The World
Five star-shaped ornaments with intricate floral patterns and vibrant colors, each featuring a unique design, arranged on a light-colored background.
Kashmiri artisans use a traditional papier-mâché technique to create their Christmas ornaments before they are painted by hand.Syed Shahriyar/The World
Three intricately decorated bell-shaped ornaments with floral designs and tassels, placed on a blue fabric with white patterns.
While artisans in Kashmir used to create between 40,000 to 50,000 ornaments each Christmas season, US tariffs have caused demand to drop to about 4,000 to 5,000.Syed Shahriyar/The World
A collection of colorful Christmas tree ornaments featuring elephants, trees, and reindeer shapes, decorated with snowflake patterns and glitter, lying on a dark patterned fabric.
Christmas ornaments, also called baubles, are created in many shapes, including stars, bells, hanging deer, elephants, cats and hearts.Syed Shahriyar/The World
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