Talking Point

If you ask a weaver in Afghanistan, s/he will say ‘each carpet tells a story’. Such is the intense passion in which the art of carpet weaving is practiced in this country.

Yet, battered by war and due to lack of frontline marketing infrastructure, the sector remains a victim of financial ills & neglect.
Is there a glimmer of hope to give the unsung masses of this sector their due returns?

Breadwinner for the multitude: Afghanistan has a long tradition to weave world’s most wonderful carpets. Millions of people are engaged in carpet weaving and it employs the largest number of people after agriculture. Carpet is weaved across the length and breadth of Afghanistan. In the west, one observes the influence of Persian design and in the north there is some influence of Uzbek design. Carpet design in Afghanistan was also influenced by Turkey. But at the end of the day Afghan carpet offers enormous variety in designs and every second home has a loom to weave carpet.

In dire straits: After the Soviet invasion in late 1979, many weavers took refuge to Pakistan and continued their tradition. Pakistani traders took the full advantage of this cheap labor and started selling those beautiful rugs across the globe. Weavers earned less than $2 a day. In Afghanistan, rugs are used by every household because of harsh winter and it’s a part of tradition too. Although millions of Afghans are weaving carpets in Afghanistan but the trade, even now is controlled by Pakistan; Pakistan sells Afghan carpets as Pakistani carpet to the world.

Pakistani traders come to Afghanistan with design, wool and money to pay the wages to the weavers. Afghan producers take those and distribute it to the weavers. Afterwards, Pakistani traders take the carpet from the producers. The carpet is then cut, washed and dried in Pakistan and exported from there.

In the value chain Pakistan makes a profit of around 98%, according some figures. Afghan weavers get a daily wage of less than $2 a day and at times its $1 a day. Afghan families even involve their children in weaving. Children have better eyesight and some families would ensure their children start weaving at 5 am in the morning. But most of them lose their eyesight very fast since they work in poor lighting condition.

Laudable moves: Realizing this, USAID funded SME development project supported Afghan producers to export their carpet directly to Europe and USA. The project assisted 30 Afghan producers/enterprises in 2008 to participate in the Domotex, Germany, the largest carpet show in the world. These producers booked orders worth $40 million and Afghanistan also won the best Carpet design in Euro 200 category. It was money worth spent. Even donors did not realize the worth, since it did not get enough publicity.

USAID and GTZ supported Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan (EPAA) to organize first international carpet show in Kabul. 11 importers from US participated in the show and the show generated orders worth $4 million. These events have helped Afghan carpet producers in increasing their income substantially. Hopefully, few weavers would start earning a little better.

The weavers will earn more if such promotional events are organized regularly and many producers get chance to promote their items. The donors should also ensure that Afghan producers supported by them need to be paid fair wages and get improved working conditions.

Focusing on this sector can bring smiles to million homes in Afghanistan.

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