The survival of a tradition depends on honest and well-functioning instruction. An apprentice learning his craft under the supervision of a master, besides acquiring craft skills also learns the canons of taste and, on happier occasions, gains some secret wisdom to provide the things he makes with a soul.

In medieval craft guilds - which continued to 'govern the crafts' in Estonian towns until the end of 19th century - the instruction was meticulously organised, but at the same time jealously secretive and exclusive. In order to become a master the initiate had to first of all have the proper social background, then go through a lengthy period of apprenticeship - preferably involving the Wanderjahre ('wandering years') abroad - and finally present certain pieces of work approved by the guild.

Not much is known, up till the 17th century, about the crafting traditions of the majority of the inhabitants of Estonia, the Estonian peasants. During the peak period of nobility's prosperity and grandeur in the late 18th to the early 19th century the interest of the Baltic German land-owners in educating them - in addition to elementary Bible reading and arithmetic skills - and improving their standard of life remained, some semi-legendary exceptions aside, quite limited.

A major change only arrived together with the spread of the ideas of German Enlightenment and National Romanticism in Estonia in the 1800s. During their studies at Göttingen, Halle, Jena and other German universities many future manor-owners developed a sense of responsibility for the intellectual advancement of the peasantry back at home. The popular Estonian-language home economics' calendars and magazines were one of the results, as were handicraft instruction for the servants at the manor houses. It was through the coachmen, maids, stableboys and wet nurses that a good deal of the more refined patterns, fashions and crafting techniques spread from the manor to the general populace.

Thus, in the early 19th century, the fashion and styles - from Rococo to Empire style and Biedermeyer - that for decades had remained more or less 'out-of-reach' as far as the peasants were concerned, now entered the Estonian consciousness, and found expressions in clothing, home decoration, etc. in a single eclectic wave.

Frame chairs from the 19th century provide ample illustration for the imitation of urban and manorial furniture fashions (from Baroque to Chippendale and Biedermeyer) by peasant craftsmen.

Even more rapid changes accompanied the National Awakening in the 1860s. One of many signs of the emancipation of Estonian peasantry was the mushrooming of associations and societies of various sorts. Whether devoted nominally to agricultural improvement, the temperance movement, cycling sport, fire-fighting, or some other activity the authorities agreed to give their permission to, a significant part of the organisations' efforts was devoted to 'civilising' their fellow Estonians: by arranging various exhibitions, offering instruction about housekeeping and handicrafts, publishing educational literature, etc.

The new heyday of societies and the spread of popular handicraft skills arrived in the 1920s after Estonia became independent. In order to promote everything national, the new nation state added 'political commission' to already strong 'societal readiness'. Folk art, hitherto regarded as something lowly and vulgar, became the sign and manifestation of Estonian national ideas, to be introduced and taught to as many as possible.

In 1927, with strong governmental backing, the joint venture Kodukäsitöö ('Domestic Handicrafts') was established for commissioning, purchasing and trading (mostly exporting to the United States) the replica articles of traditional Estonian handicraft, mainly textiles.

Two years later, another central organisation, the Estonian Folk Art and Craft Union (EFACU), was founded, the aim of which was "... advancing handicraft at home, improving skills, promoting the idea and explaining its usefulness to a wider population... The Union began publishing the magazine of applied art, handicrafts and household culture titled Kodutööstus ('Domestic Economics') in 1938.

The flourishing of handicraft cultivated in societies came to an abrupt end in 1940. After annexation of Estonia the Soviets quickly banned, amongst other things, all organisations that formed the backbone of Estonian civic society; the EFACU was disbanded as well.

Worst of all, in the first post-WW II decade, forced collectivisation together with mass deportations brought about the loss of many farm households and, consequently, the very 'foundations' of traditional rural handicraft.

In the 1950s women kept knitting mittens, socks and sweaters for their families, and the practically non-existent services compelled men to undertake various tasks of carpentry, etc. Their children, in the meantime, sawed stars and sheaves of rye out of plywood, or, at best, made snow shovels or bird feeders at school. Anything more refined by way of home culture was derided in public as manifestations of anti-Soviet bourgeois sentiment.

Today, the study and instruction of the Estonian traditional handicraft in the most authentic sense of the term is centred in the Viljandi Culture Academy's Department of National Handicraft. In addition to traditional women's handicraft, focused on various textile techniques, a brand new line of study into the field of traditional men's handicraft, that of vernacular construction, has emerged in Viljandi. Based on old methods of log-building and timber-crafting, these studies integrate ancient skills with modern principles of ecological construction, as well as with the regional approach towards Estonia's diverse construction heritage.

The programme of the Department strives to revive and make the old crafting techniques popular once again by training future schoolteachers and course instructors. The most gratifying 'target group' of all is the children, as they easily grasp the playfulness and joy of doing things that are essential components in sustaining any crafting tradition. The students' curriculum at the VCA thus includes practical training at a variety of crafting camps for children.

All in all, the students and graduates of the Academy are involved in an amazing number of innovative undertakings in Estonia, from providing the big music festivals with tradition-based decorations to compiling board games on the themes of Estonian crafting heritage.

In addition to the above, the networking of handicraft societies and a range of courses for all age groups is gradually picking up as well. In January 1992 the Estonian Folk Art and Craft Union was restored in Tallinn, and has since re-established branches all over the country. There is a training centre, and the National Costume Advisory Board has also sprung to new life.