PAL’s concept and assistance in improving Embroidery handicraft sector in Afghanistan

PAL’s concept and assistance in improving Embroidery handicraft sector in Afghanistan

Introduction

Despite the widespread availability of embroidery skills and the eagerness of producers to use their skills to improve their livelihoods, market linkages for embroidered products in eastern Afghanistan, are very weak. One of the main reasons for the lack of market linkages for embroidered products is gender restrictions which generally confine women to their homes or at least to certain parts of their villages and which precludes interaction between women and men except the males of the immediate family. Not only do these gender restrictions make it difficult for women to advertise their skills to shopkeepers but they also make it almost impossible for shopkeepers to search f or producers. Even if women do approach shopkeepers, there is a second major obstacle to the development of a market linkage. Women generally do not have the capital to enable them to fill an order from a shopkeeper and therefore usually rely on shopkeepers to provide the necessary inputs. Shopkeepers are willing to do this but only for women whom they know thus providing some guarantee that the women will return the inputs as saleable finished products within the agreed time period

The PAL

PAL is a 6 year EC funded project (2004-2009) in Eastern Afghanistan, partnered with the MRRD and managed by GTZ International Services.

PAL assisted and facilitated the process of participatory development planning on CDC, Cluster CDC (CDCC) at district level to respond tailor made to the needs and requirements of Embroidery communities based on their proposals submitted to PAL.

More than 15 % of the proposals submitted to small by CCDCS from 20 districts of Nangarhar, Laghman and Kunar provinces, and requested assistance in the field of handicraft. PAL’s assistance is to assist those who try to help themselves and are committed to the development of their own living conditions. Thus, an own contribution and performance of the potential beneficiaries is required.

PAL’s Concept Regarding Embroidery

PAL’s assistance is always demand driven based on participatory, bottom up planning with CDCs. Through this planning process CDCs requested assistance for upgrading the knowledge of women in the field of handicraft. PAL’s strategy of implementing projects is to provide vocational training on handicraft production to eligible and interested women in rural areas through competent training institutes and NGOs, in the field of embroidery that was ZARDOZI, a long time established Afghan NGO.

Prior to any intervention in this field, PAL supported a study on the present status and development and national and international market potential of different handicrafts produced in eastern Afghanistan.

This study reveals revealed that the potential in this field a rather limited, not only compared to neighbouring countries such as India, Pakistan, Iran, China etc but also in terms of other parts of AFG such as Kabul and the north. PAL’s intervention therefore focused on crafts with assumed market potential in skills and quality upgrading and setting up a marketing concept.

The findings were there are a number of traditional embroidery stitches and techniques which are common in eastern Afghanistan. Communities and ethnic groups tend to specialize in particular techniques although some stitches such as kandhari, are now common to many groups. With modernization and rising costs, traditional skills are dying out. The exception is kandhari which remains contemporary and marketable, and pokhta dozi which is easy and cheap. These days’ girls are more interested in more modern embroidery skills such as beadwork.

The handicraft embroidery training provided with PAL’s assistance, comprises of different modules depending upon the level of knowledge of the trainees. The aim is to provide a network of resource persons with professional knowledge as service providers to the communities. These resource persons will be linked to national markets to ensure quality standards in the future.

Concerning marketing on the one hand the well established NGO and PAL implementing partner ZARDOZI offers already recognised highly professional outlets and on the other hand saleswomen were trained to add, develop and identify additional opportunities for selling handicrafts.

Achievements

A study on the value chain potential on handicrafts was conducted and is available (see above).

Assistance in training

PAL conducted two embroidery training programs for 1000 women and saleswomen from Nangahar, Laghman and Kunar Provinces who were interested and have capability in the field of embroidery.

The training module for 1000 women consist of theoretical training, practical training, visits to national market, refresh training and provide all necessary tools in the field of embroidery.

PAL responds to the CCDCS proposals and conducts a number of embroidery trainings in different districts in the eastern region:

-          Dih Bala district 112 women

-          Surkh Rod district 111 women

-          Kuzkunar district 111 women

-          Bihsud district 111 women

-          Markazi Laghman - Mihtarlam district 111 women

-          Narang Wa Badil district 111 women

-          Markazi Kunarha - Asad Abad district 111 women

-          Khas Kunar district 111 women

-          Alinigar district 111 women

In total 1000 trainees are well trained/under training embroidery

Assistance in value chain development

Details of home producers

The home producers are sequestered, rural women whose movements are usually restricted to their own compounds and some part of their home village. Very many are returnees from Pakistan, either recently or in the past decade. The majority are illiterate although some have a little schooling from Pakistan. Most of the women have never had any formal training in embroidery; instead they have picked up their skills from family and friends. Since traditions in embroidery vary between tribes and local cultures, some of the home producers are skilled in the more technically difficult stitches and some are not.

Development of home producers

The home producers have developed during the project period. Their skills have greatly improved. They have learned to manage their time so as to complete work according to schedule and they now have a more realistic attitude towards the level of commitment which is needed in order to earn a living from selling home production in the market. Now that they are earning an income it is expected that their status in the family will have improved, however there has not been the resources to investigate this beyond anecdotal evidence. Women, when asked, are proud of their work and report that their new status as income earners already brings them more respect in the family.

Development of marketing channels

To establish value chain for the project, PAL along with Zardozi and CDC selected sale agents for home producers who are responsible for collecting the products from home producers.

PAL conducted several training through Zardozi for improving the skills of these female sale agents. Through the training that sales agents have received, they have new skills in business such as pricing and quality assurance. They need further training however, if they are to fully utilize their opportunity and to move merely supplying established outlets such as that from Zardozi and to work with local and regional markets. Zardozi will continue to provide training to sales agents including some training for selected sales agents under a new GTZ contract.

The sales agents themselves have developed through the project. For example, whereas originally they were reluctant to travel and always brought their maharram with them to meetings, now sales agents tend to share taxis and leave their maharram at home. They have gained confidence in their own abilities and are starting to think independently about how to develop linkages to wider markets with new products

Information on a re-kindling of interest amongst shopkeepers and traders and thousands of women, in the idea that home production can be profitable. This is a concept which many rural women see as their only hope for alleviating household poverty and vulnerability. The fact that the sales agent model will enable 1,000 women to be linked to a market, now or in the near future, is very encouraging and provides a valuable model for Afghanistan. The lessons learned regarding both home producers and sales agents and the commitment of Zardozi to continuing to work with the network means that the future of this network is secure.

The attitude of the home producers was not originally seen as the challenge in implementation of this project but turned out to be one. The challenge was identified as the ability to motivate women to be successful sales agents. This has been more than achieved and the majority of the 16 sales agents are now committed to maximizing their income through selling to Zardozi and forging links to local markets in future. It has taken time but the attitude of the home producers has also developed leading to increased trust that Zardozi and the network are there for the long term. The fact that the network has developed and is developing through this organic process should prove a valuable foundation for the future.

Approximate income levels for home producers

Below table demonstrates the approximate level of income home producers were getting before the project and after. It is planned that as the home producers become more expert they will produce quicker and become more reliable and as fast, reliable producers their earnings will increase.

On the basis of discussion with women it is estimated that they would like to work on embroidery an average of 4 hours daily. It is planned that these women will reach the level of working for 4 hours daily within 6 – 12 months at which time their income will double to approximately $20 monthly. This is just under a dollar a day considering that they do not work every day.

SUMMARY

PAL in cooperation with its implementing partner Zardozi has achieved that

1.)    in-depth information on value chain in the field of handicraft is available for eastern AFG

2.)    More than 1000 women are trained in upgrading skills and quality of handicraft in eastern AFG. These women will forward their knowledge within their families

3.)    Women from eastern AFG producing handicrafts are linked to national and international markets.

The groundswell of interest which has been generated by this project will be nurtured by Zardozi and, with further assistance from GTZ PAL, will lead in time to a revitalization of the embroidery sub-sector in this part of the eastern region.

DISCLAIMER

This article has been produced with the assistance of the European Union and the GTZ IS. The content of this article is the sole responsibility of the author and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union or the GTZ IS.

The Project for Alternative Livelihoods in Eastern Afghanistan (PAL) is located at Jalalabad and funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by GTZ IS