IT was deafening: the incessant sound of the hammer, interspersed with the tinkle of the grindstone. From one house to the next they rang out, filling the morning air in Tumang Village, the center of copper craftsmen located in Cepogo District, Boyolali, Central Java.

Hundreds of copper craftsmen are spinning the wheels of economy in Tumang. They transform 1x2-meter copper and brass slabs into tissue holders, name signs, flower vases, hangin