War vet’s rug shop thrives thanks to Afghan connections
AFGHANISTAN War veteran James Wilthew loved the country and its people so much he started a business selling their rugs.
The RAF flight lieutenant also served in Bosnia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan but his tour of Afghanistan was by far, his favourite.
James served in Mazar-i-Sharif, a city in the north, between 2003 and 2004.
He provided security for the Provincial Reconstruction Team, a USled unit designed to re-establish local governments after they were freed from Taliban control. It was in this region that James made friends with market traders selling their rugs.
James, 45, from Cragg Vale, said: “The Afghans have a really cheeky sense of humour. They are probably some of the poorest people I’ve met but they are so welcoming.”
As part of his tour, the dad-of-two would visit rug shops and drink tea with the weavers and sellers.
He’d wonder how he could help these near destitute and downtrodden but supremely hospitable people.
To start with, James bought 42 rugs and sold half of them to pay for his wedding to Anna.
But back in the UK 12 years later, he had a lightbulb moment. A friend asked where he could buy rugs similar to the ones James had brought home from Afghanistan.
James, an RAF reservist, remembered a market trader and weaver he’d befriended in Mazar-i-Sharif 12 years ago. It was a long shot but after scouring Facebook and ringing numbers visible in general photos taken in Mazar he found him.
Electronically reunited with his Afghan friend and new business partner, James painstakingly explored how to import rugs from one of the world’s least developed, most dangerous and remote regions.
James eventually managed to negotiate the maze of sketchy developing world transport, international shipping, import duties and fluctuating exchange rates.
The falling value of the Afghan Afghani meant James’s suppliers understandably wanted paying in US dollars.
But James said: “Within three months we were open and trading and the rest is history.”
The Afghan Rug Shop, Market Street, Hebden Bridge, did well for a few years but a weaker pound after