KABUL, June 10 (Xinhua) — Working in his small carpet-weaving store from daybreak to nightfall to earn a livelihood for his 10-member household, Jan Mohammad expressed satisfaction over his earnings, whereas urging the federal government to additional help the traditional craft.
Afghanistan’s title, in line with Mohammad, 40, is tied to its hand-woven carpet, and the normal business might be the identification of the Central Asian nation globally.
“I’m pleased with my work within the carpet sector and would really feel extra pleasure if our carpet is exported within the title of Afghanistan,” Mohammad advised Xinhua in his office lately.
Mohammad, a carpet weaver by career who has labored within the sector for greater than a decade, mentioned he’s at the moment weaving a 12-square-meter carpet along with his staff, which incorporates six members of the family.
“Our job is sweet, and our earnings is cheap. We’re working a standard life, neither wealthy nor poor,” the expert carpet weaver mentioned.
Since hand-woven carpets are costly and infrequently bought within the nation, Mohammad mentioned most of their carpet merchandise are exported overseas.
The worth of 1 sq. meter is 3,000 afghani (46.8 U.S. {dollars}), he mentioned.
Echoing an identical notion, one other carpet weaver, Sardar Agha, 52, mentioned with pleasure that the revival of the hand-woven carpet business has created job alternatives for numerous folks, together with himself.
“Though carpet weaving is a tricky job, it’s joyful. To finish its weaving takes two to a few months with three to 4 employees. We’re glad,” Agha mentioned whereas weaving a 6-square-meter carpet.
However, he believes that larger help, elevated funding, and coaching to have expert employees would additional develop the traditional artwork within the nation.
Agha, nonetheless, lamented the difficulties he faces in weaving a carpet. “We begin weaving after morning prayer (round 4:00 a.m. native time), have a break at midday, and even generally proceed to work till late night and even 10 p.m. native time.”
Though there aren’t any official statistics on the variety of folks engaged in carpet weaving in Afghanistan, greater than 1 million folks, largely girls, earn their livelihood from the carpet-weaving business, which is the second-largest sector in Afghanistan after agriculture.
“Washing a ten sq. meter carpet requires two to a few hours. If we’re two folks, we are able to wash 20 sq. meters of carpet a day and cost 400 afghani (6.25 {dollars}) per sq. meter,” mentioned a carpet washer, Jan Mohammad.
A resident of the northern Faryab province, Jan Mohammad, 45, who has been working within the carpet sector for greater than 20 years, mentioned the business is flourishing, and hoped extra folks would be a part of the sector sooner or later.
“The business would additional develop if we export our carpet overseas and on this case, extra job alternatives can be created,” the proprietor of a carpet-producing firm, Zafar Khan Daudzai, urged.
Daudzai additionally revealed that round 15,000 individuals are working in his firm to supply 800 sq. meters to 1,000 sq. meters each month.
“We hope the federal government would set up extra manufacturing services and facilitate carpet exports exterior the nation,” Daudzai mentioned, including with optimism, “the hand-woven carpet business in Afghanistan is on a continuing rise and would additional flourish.”
