<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/a-brave-new-generation-of-craftspeople-in-kashmir/>
"Amid late spring blooms and the summer tourist crush, 35-year-old Mohammad
Mateen drives across the city of Srinagar to inspect pashmina shawls being
woven for his homegrown Kashmiri brand, Blossoms of Heaven. He pulls up in
front of master weaver Abdul Hamid’s house, a two-story structure surrounded by
fruit trees. Hamid ushers us up the wooden steps to his attic workshop with two
looms, and tells a story of revival. “Ten years ago, I used to weave four to
five shawls a month,” he says. “Today, by god’s grace, I weave more than 30.”
Here in the Kashmir valley at the Indo-Pakistan border, a region that has been
known for violent conflict since the 1990s, Mateen and Hamid represent a brave
new generation. Through the practice of traditional crafts, they are trying to
rebuild lives and livelihoods, a critical aspect of peace-building and economic
redevelopment in former conflict zones. The road to economic rehabilitation has
been long and hard.
Like conflict zones across the world, Kashmir had been isolated from the rest
of the country, and its fabled artisans, from their markets. “It felt as if
while we Kashmiris struggled with turmoil and violence in our backyards since
the 1990s all the way up to the early 2000s, the world left us behind and moved
on,” Sajid Nazir, senior faculty at Craft Development Institute, Srinagar,
remarks. “Our master craftspeople had had no contact with the market for
decades, and years of conflict had eroded their confidence and trust. As for
the younger generation, they were more interested in migrating to safer, more
lucrative cities, than in practicing traditional craft.”
Peace began returning to the valley in the first decade of the millennium, but
sporadic violence and internet shutdowns made it hard for local businesses to
grow. “I still remember 2019, the last time that Kashmir experienced serious
violence, curfews and one of the world’s longest internet shutdowns of over
five months,” Mateen says. “I feared for our survival, and that of the
craftspeople dependent on us.”
Cut to 2024, when much has changed for Mateen, and other entrepreneurs like
him: “We employ, directly and indirectly, over 400 weavers across Kashmir
today,” he says. “And we’ve managed to expand to markets in Qatar and other
parts of the Middle East.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
