This excerpt was taken from BBC travel. Sparks from the fire filled the air as a descendant of a clan of 15th-Century blacksmiths plunged a pair of tongs holding an alloy of precious metals into the flames. At his forge, in the Balinese village of Klungkung, Jro Mangku I Wayan Sudiarta appeared serene as he carved sacred symbols into the temple bell. It had taken the blacksmith-turned-priest 70 hours to create the bell, which was moulded with black volcanic soil and formed from gold, silver, copper, zinc and iron. But it was worth the wait. For when it is rung, the temple bell is said to create the sound that contains all sounds. It brings health, prosperity and peace and marks beginnings and endings. Sudiarta is one of the few remaining blacksmiths in Bali who is able to create this sacred bell by hand. However, his legacy is not only protected by his craftsmanship, but the fact he is now one of 11 artisans from Indonesia who are helping to protect the country’s past and future by placing their work on Web3, a new iteration of the web that includes blockchain technologies. The artisans have joined with Quantum Temple, a Web3 platform designed to preserve cultural heritage, and Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism to create Paths to Alangö, a collection of NFTs, one-of-a-kind digital assets that are sold through Web3. “We saw this as not just [a way to] to conserve the culture, but also succeed [in the future],” said Muhammad Neil El Himam, Deputy of Indonesia‘s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. This isn’t the first time artefacts have been turned into NFTs. The Uffizi gallery in Florence famously sold an NFT based on Michelango’s Doni Tondo; while the Shanghai Museum is turning a few pieces of its collection into NFTs. However, this is the first time that a country has taken the step of preserving its history and future by placing its cultural heritage on Web3. Read the full BBC article HERE.

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