KABUL, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Working in his small carpet-weaving shop from dawn to dusk to earn a livelihood for his 10-member family, Jan Mohammad expressed satisfaction over his income, while urging the government to further support the ancient craft.
Afghanistan's name, according to Mohammad, 40, is tied to its hand-woven carpet, and the traditional industry could be the identity of the Central Asian nation globally.
"I am happy with my work in the carpet sector and would feel more joy if our carpet is exported in the name of Afghanistan," Mohammad told Xinhua in his workplace recently.
Mohammad, a carpet weaver by profession who has worked in the sector for more than a decade, said he is currently weaving a 12-square-meter carpet with his team, which includes six family members.
"Our job is good, and our income is reasonable. We are running a normal life, neither rich nor poor," the skilled carpet weaver said.
Since hand-woven carpets are expensive and rarely sold in the country, Mohammad said most of their carpet products are exported abroad.
The price of one square meter is 3,000 afghani (46.8 U.S. dollars), he said.
Echoing a similar notion, another carpet weaver, Sardar Agha, 52, said with joy that the revival of the hand-woven carpet industry has created job opportunities for countless people, including himself.
"Although carpet weaving is a tough job, it is joyful. To complete its weaving takes two to three months with three to four workers. We are satisfied," Agha said while weaving a 6-square-meter carpet.
Nevertheless, he believes that greater support, increased investment, and training to have skilled workers would further develop the ancient art in the country.
Agha, however, lamented the difficulties he faces in weaving a carpet. "We start weaving after morning prayer (around 4:00 a.m. local time), have a break at noon, and even sometimes continue to work until late evening and even 10 p.m. local time."
Although there are no official statistics on the number of people engaged in carpet weaving in Afghanistan, more than 1 million people, mostly women, earn their livelihood from the carpet-weaving industry, which is the second-largest sector in Afghanistan after agriculture.
"Washing a 10 square meter carpet requires two to three hours. If we are two people, we can wash 20 square meters of carpet a day and charge 400 afghani (6.25 dollars) per square meter," said a carpet washer, Jan Mohammad.
A resident of the northern Faryab province, Jan Mohammad, 45, who has been working in the carpet sector for more than 20 years, said the industry is flourishing, and hoped more people would join the sector in the future.
"The industry would further develop if we export our carpet abroad and in this case, more job opportunities will be created," the owner of a carpet-producing company, Zafar Khan Daudzai, suggested.
Daudzai also revealed that around 15,000 people are working in his company to produce 800 square meters to 1,000 square meters every month.
"We hope the government would establish more production facilities and facilitate carpet exports outside the country," Daudzai said, adding with optimism, "the hand-woven carpet industry in Afghanistan is on a constant rise and would further flourish."■
