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100 SUMMER 2024 05  Afghan weavers at the loom 06  Ghazni wool 07  The carpet weavers of Almas Kabir working in Balkh Province 05 07 06 introduction of the Afghan Weaver App currently links 7,500 weavers, fif teen carpet producers and fif teen international customers, in a system that works in other production countries. In terms of success stories there are many, but one that struck me was Almas Kabir, a woman-owned business in northern Balk province. Founded in 2017 and operating with only fifteen weavers, the company struggled during the economic crisis that followed the Taliban takeover. Through ACEBA’s Business Recovery Initiative (BRI) it was able to obtain an interest-free refundable working capital advance to buy raw material and hire further women. In the past two years the company has gone from strength to strength and now employs 280 weavers producing 2,800 sq m of carpets worth around $168,000. Through a further grant from ACEBA it is building its own carpet finishing facility so it can directly export to the US and Europe. The owner of the company commented: ‘Because of the working capital advance provided to our company, we could address the lack of cash, fully recover operations, maintain female carpet weavers, pay salaries, and run the business as normal.’ While the five-year project facilitators are busy ensuring that the advances they have helped to make are sustainable, we can look at the macro changes ACEBA has achieved. From a huge reduction in the use of child labour though Label STEP’s compliance audits, to the refocusing of local firms on the custom order market and the trebling of the annual Afghan carpet production to 3 million sq m, the project’s ambitous plans have been realised, and they aim to endure.
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I S SUE 75 101 Projects by Waef Arts Recently founded by Baran Özozan, Wæf Arts is a London-based company working on a variety of rug projects in Afghanistan that will show results later this year. Lucy Upward finds out more Ifirst met Baran Özozan several years ago at Domotex where he was travelling with his father, the well-known and respected Bülent Özozan, who has worked on rug production in Afghanistan for many years. Unbeknown to me, Baran had established his own company, Wæf Arts, in September of 2023, in London, and had numerous plans for rug projects. While I was at the Istanbul Carpet and Flooring Expo in December 2023, I sat in the audience of an interesting talk about AI by digital artist Ecem Dilan Köse. At the end, Baran was there to say hello once again and let me know that he and Ecem were working on a number of rug projects together. We have remained in touch. When he mentioned a project they are undertaking with designs by children from an orphange in Afghanistan, I knew we had to mention this in COVER, ahead of anything coming off the loom. Wæf Arts comprises Baran, Ecem and a number of connecting freelancers and agencies. They have a range of inspiring schemes coming up, including the Afghan Orphanage Project. What was the first enterprise you began working on? The first project we started was our collaboration with the digital artist Ecem Dilan Köse. Ecem is an immensely talented and well-known artist, and her areas of interest had the potential to create something so unique combined with our works. Thus, we are currently working on transforming our handwoven Afghan rug motifs through her digital art pieces. 02 What other projects do you currently have on the go? In addition to Ecem Dilan Köse, we are also collaborating with nature photographers, drawing inspiration from their professional eyes to create unique designs for the Carpet Design Awards and the Afghan Orphanage Project. Where did the idea for the project with the orphanage come from? My inspiration came from a similarly innocent place, my childhood drawings. Finding my drawings from kindergarten led me to think about what designs in our everyday lives would be like from a child’s perspective. Not so long after, coming across kindergartens and orphanages in Afghanistan, this thought of mine suddenly meant something. I thought I could gather drawings from those children and voice their stories, imaginations, and dreams and give something to their community through an artform that combines the innocence of childhood, the beauty of tradition, and the possibilities of modern art. How are the children’s designs being used and turned into rugs? The drawings gathered from the children are scanned and digitally turned into rug motifs by our amazing artist, Ecem. The motifs she creates from the drawings are used on various sections of the rugs such as the main border, medallion, corner brackets, guard borders, and field motifs. We will eventually have one to three variations of the rug, made by the handweaving method. Where are the weavers you work with situated in Afghanistan? Those we are working with are located in the Aqcha region in Afghanistan. The orphanage where we met and requested the children’s drawings is located in the Shebergan region. Some of the fif ty children that we obtained drawings from have mothers who are weavers in the Aqcha region. How important it is for you to be producing rugs in Afghanistan? Family-run rug and carpet-making businesses in Afghanistan have been struggling for a long time with economic challenges due to the country’s post-war conditions, making it difficult to maintain their commercial viability or 01 01, 03  Drawings by the orphans 02  A cartoon representing the orphans holding their drawings 03 take advantage of overseas sales opportunities. Their traditional crafting skills are face-toface with the threat of loss, since they are in the hands of an elderly population who prefer passing the tradition solely to their children or community. At this point, export-orientated sales seem like the best option to help Afghan artisans protect their craft. www.waefarts.com

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100 SUMMER 2024

05  Afghan weavers at the loom 06  Ghazni wool 07  The carpet weavers of Almas Kabir working in Balkh Province

05

07

06

introduction of the Afghan Weaver App currently links 7,500 weavers, fif teen carpet producers and fif teen international customers, in a system that works in other production countries.

In terms of success stories there are many, but one that struck me was Almas Kabir, a woman-owned business in northern Balk province. Founded in 2017 and operating with only fifteen weavers, the company struggled during the economic crisis that followed the Taliban takeover. Through ACEBA’s Business Recovery Initiative (BRI) it was able to obtain an interest-free refundable working capital advance to buy raw material and hire further women. In the past two years the company has gone from strength to strength and now employs 280 weavers producing 2,800 sq m of carpets worth around $168,000.

Through a further grant from ACEBA it is building its own carpet finishing facility so it can directly export to the US and Europe. The owner of the company commented: ‘Because of the working capital advance provided to our company, we could address the lack of cash, fully recover operations, maintain female carpet weavers, pay salaries, and run the business as normal.’

While the five-year project facilitators are busy ensuring that the advances they have helped to make are sustainable, we can look at the macro changes ACEBA has achieved. From a huge reduction in the use of child labour though Label STEP’s compliance audits, to the refocusing of local firms on the custom order market and the trebling of the annual Afghan carpet production to 3 million sq m, the project’s ambitous plans have been realised, and they aim to endure.

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