For centuries on a small, forested island in the Baltic Sea, women in headscarves and striped red skirts have done most of the work: from farming to lighthouse keeping, leading church services and even dressing up as Santa at Christmas.
The men of Kihnu island, 10 kilometres (six miles) off the coast of Estonia, are away at sea fishing for weeks or months at a time, leaving the women to run what is often dubbed one of the last matriarchal societies in Europe.
Steeped in folk traditions, Kihnu's historic way of life however is now threatened as economic hardship drives more and more islanders away in search of work.
"Around every kitchen table, every day, we discuss how to survive," Mare Matas, official guide and ardent defender of Kihnu's heritage, tells AFP.
Although 686 people are registered as living on the island, only 300 now do so year-round, says Matas, a 45-year-old mother of four who was instrumental in securing UNESCO recognition of Kihnu's intangible cultural heritage in 2008.
Since the global economic crash hit Estonia hard that year, the island's year-round population has halved.
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The island of 16 square kilometres (six square miles) has only a few paved roads, two small food shops, a museum, church and primary school with 36 children, down from over 100 some years ago.
Kihnu life still revolves around ancient folk traditions and songs, a unique culture which UNESCO describes as a "masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity".
"We are going to lose it if people don't live here any more," Matas says. "We don't know what to do."