Aid project crafts new hub for Afghanistan’s artisans
KABUL — Ceramics, carpentry, calligraphy and gem cutting: centuries of Afghan craftsmanship honed on the ancient Silk Road are being preserved in Kabul, a rare success story for an aid project in the war-torn country that organizers are now hoping to replicate with refugees from Syria.
In the 16 years since the fall of the Taliban, the Turquoise Mountain foundation has found some of Afghanistan’s best artisans and helped them preserve and pass on their skills, as well helping them showcase their work in international markets.
A painstakingly restored caravanserai — a roadside inn — in Kabul’s oldest district is once again a hub for woodwork carvers, potters making traditionally-glazed ceramics, Islamic calligraphers and goldsmiths.
“When we started, there were very few artisans living in Kabul. Most of them were out of the country,” said Abdul Wahid Khalili, the nonprofit’s director.
“We had to start with the few old artisans we had, it was a very difficult start,” he said.
Kabul, a key stop on the Silk Road, was once renowned for its craftwork, but when Turquoise Mountain began work in 2006 in Kabul’s oldest district of Mourad Khani, they had to excavate the caravanserai from tons of rubbish.
“For more than 50 years the rubbish had piled up in the yard,” he said, adding that they also immediately began training students.
“The idea was to restore the (caravanserai) and train the new generation,” he said.
Slowly more and more Afghan artisans joined the collective, preserving priceless skills that many feared would disappear altogether due to decades of war — a problem that many Syrian craftsmen, who are fleeing their country in droves, now face.
First started by British diplomat Rory Stewart, the Turquoise Mountain foundation, which is supported by Britain’s Prince Charles, the British Council and USAID, said it has now worked with about 5,000 artisans.
After its successes in Afghanistan, the foundation is looking at Syria, which is also seeing ancient traditions threatened by an exodus of artisans.
“We have already met Syrian artisans in Jordan,” said Scott Riddle, a project director who will start work in September.
“Some people in Amman have already managed to set up small ateliers. We’re researching in the refugee camp in Azraq, in the desert in the country’s northeast.”
After Jordan, Turquoise Mountain is looking to work with refugee artisans from Libya.
When we started, there were very few artisans living in Kabul. Most of them were out of the country.”
Abdul Wahid Khalili, director of the Turquoise Mountain foundation, a nonprofit that runs the project