IDEALS

KABUL, (Aug. 13, 2009) IPS/GIN – Carpet weaving has long been a
part of Afghanistan’s history and culture.

Though it is unclear exactly when Afghans began making carpets, it
is believed that long ago, women poured their emotions into the
carpets they created, telling stories of hero’s and prophets. Since
that time, carpets have come to symbolise Afghan national dignity
and stand as a testament to the creativity of her people.

Monawar Shah Haqbin, an Afghan historian, says that when kings in
Afghanistan wanted to bestow precious gifts on one another, carpets
were usually their first choice.

Also, when women wanted to marry, carpets were a crucial part of
any dowry. Even today, when Afghan celebrities or public officials
make an appearance during times of national celebration, they often
do so on a red carpet, weaved by Afghan craftsmen.

Now, carpet weaving has an even more vital role as one of the few
viable industries left in Afghanistan.

It is easy to set up a loom in the home and the materials for
getting started are inexpensive and easily obtainable. Women can
pick up the skill and make money for their families without having
to leave the home and children.

While the northern part of Afghanistan has traditionally been the
carpet-production epicentre of the country, since the Taliban came
to power in the 1990’s, the importance of Kabul to carpet
production has grown. Women who could no longer go to school or
work because of Taliban restrictions, could still make money by
weaving carpets.

After the regime was toppled, the new government undertook many
initiatives to train and monetise carpet production by Afghan
women.

But still, the lack of large-scale resources to cut, wash and
finish these carpets has crippled Afghanistan’s ability to fully
capitalise on one of its most valuable commodities. Experts say
that until the government provides resources for start-to-finish
production of Afghan carpets, the profit from these products will
continue to go to those outside Afghanistan’s borders.

Pakistan, Afghanistan’s southern neighbour, has taken advantage of
its proximity to the highest quality carpets in the world. The
government of that country has made the carpet business easy for
manufacturers and exporters.

Mohammad Esau, a former Afghan warlord who owns a carpet shop in
the Pakistani town of Atak, says that Afghans in the area are
currently operating hundreds of carpet factories. He adds that
Pakistan’s government has even offered him and other weavers
citizenship, enticing them to make permanent homes on that side of
the border.

A significant number of native Pakistanis are also involved in the
carpet production business, but they tend to work in the finishing
stages of production unavailable in Afghanistan, while the Afghans
are responsible for the weaving and looming.

Pakistan’s government has also made it easier for carpet producers
to do business. They lend as much as 80 percent of initial
investment capital to producers and give 13 percent tax credits on
each shipping container full of carpets exported out of the
country.

By comparison, the Afghan government’s attempts to prop up the
carpet industry are woefully inadequate.

In August 2007, the Afghan government held an inaugural carpet
exhibition, called ‘Let’s Cover The World’, in Kabul. Solyman
Fatemi, former executive director of the Association of Promotion
of Afghan Exports and Ahmad Zia Massoud, vice president of the
Economic Committee in Government, pledged that “by opening a bridge
of friendship between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Afghan
handicrafts and carpet exports will be increased.”

The officials promised help with marketing and other promotional
assistance, and also land-grants for carpet producers to build
factories. But like so many promises from the government, Barik
Andish says, no marketing was ever done and the land grants never
materialised.

Mollem Salman Taj, who exports carpets from Pakistan to the wider
world, says that while Afghan carpets have a superb reputation as
the finest available, three decades of war have caused a rift
between international carpet dealers and Afghan producers.

Taj says that marketing is the key for Afghanistan to re-establish
its dominance of the carpet market. This would both help
Afghanistan as an international brand, and perhaps entice Afghan
carpet weavers who have fled to Pakistan or Iran to come back home.

There are still many native Afghans who have chosen to stay here
and ply their craft. Sareqi, Gul-e-Barjaste, Zaher Shahi, Mashvani,
Turkmani, Khal Mohammadi, Gul-Muri are the names of just a few of
the 173 traditional Afghan carpet styles that are still produced
almost exclusively in this country.

But exclusively is different from entirely. While these carpets
are fabricated here, they are “finished” that is, cut, washed and
completed in Pakistan. After the rugs are completed, they are
affixed with a ‘Made in Pakistan’ label and shipped to buyers in
Italy, France and Germany.

Part of the reason that the entire production process can’t take
place in Afghanistan is due to a lack of resources. Noor Ghori, who
makes carpets in Afghanistan, says that cutting and dying of the
carpets takes equipment and materials that Afghan producers can’t
afford.

As a result, the world loses a traditional Afghan product, and
Afghans lose the full profit of their hard work and craftsmanship.

(*This is the second of a two-part investigative series on
Afghanistan’s famed carpet industry by Killid Weekly. IPS and
Killid Media, an independent Afghan group, have been partners since
2004.)