Meet the Artisans - Afghanistan

Zendajan shura, a women's collective in rural Herat province, was started by local women (with AWF help and seed money) to help raise subsistance income for their families. One of their most successful enterprises has been production of these tradition-design silk scarves, from raising the silk worms and processing the cocoons to dying the fiber and weaving the scarves. Silk production is a longstanding tradition in Afghanistan, and the additional income has been critical for the shura's families and community. (shura means council or collective) 

In 2005, an epidemic of suicide and attempted suicide by self-immolation among women in Afghanistan, especially in Herat province, became public knowledge. In response, Women for Afghan Women (WAW) helped local women in the Zendajan district of Herat Province form a women’s shura with the aim of developing opportunities for income-generation, shared purpose, and mutual support in order to avoid the levels of desperation reflected in the epidemic. WAW’s Afghan Women’s Fund (AWF) raised funds to provide start-up funds and to construct a modest building to serve as their gathering place and workshop. The Zendajan shura began with about 50 women and an initial project to improve their sewing skills and begin a tailoring (clothes-making) business. Encouraged by its success, they soon expanded both membership and projects. At first, they first bought silk from an outside source to make scarves and shawls. But soon they developed their own silk-making operations, creating self-sufficiency and more opportunities for more women. 

The original shura now has several hundred brings in profits equivalent to more than $1,000US per month (considerable in the Afghan economy). It has also spawned and mentored three other local shuras involving an additional 200 women to date. Together, the four Zendajan women’s shuras are currently involved in diverse sustainable women’s businesses, including a bakery, silk production and weaving, embroidery, carpet making, and the production of jam/chutney, noodles, and pickles.