Tour remote villages to find rare items in Afghanistan

The journey of an ancient carpet hunter ... an adventure fraught with danger

• The quality of the carpet depends on its age, condition and size.

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"Shari" challenges snowstorms on the high peaks in his search for the last ancient carpets in Afghanistan, as the carpet hunter is sometimes beaten by bandits, and he must also learn to avoid the elements of the "Taliban" movement.

A buyer roams the steep and steep rocky lands in the north of his country on the back of his horse, and uses mules to load the precious hand-made carpets he buys from the nomadic tribes.

"The roads are dangerous, and they are full of wolves and enemies," says Shari, who is forced to spend "nights in the forests or deserts" and relies on his strong dog to protect him while he sleeps.

Over a period of weeks or months, carpet hunters follow the paths that caravans used to follow in the past, scouring every village to find rare antique items to buy for money or exchange for modern consumer goods.

After that, they sell it in the markets to carpet collectors.

The quality of the carpet depends on its age, condition, and size. If it is of high quality, its price in villages may reach 100 or 200 dollars, and they earn as much from it when it is sold.

But this life is fraught with dangers. Shari, who lived it since childhood, has witnessed many adventures, such as being hit once with rifle butts by bandits.

The irony is that these people did not realize the value of the carpets he was carrying, as all they wanted was taken from his money.

They even told him, "Throw away those old rugs."

These dangers have always been inherent in the profession.

Shari remembers that his father, who taught him their origins after inheriting them from his father in turn, was telling him a story that happened a long time ago, about a friend who went to search for carpets.

With the increasing severity of the risks today, due to the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan, Shari is moving in groups, preferring to pass through the mountains rather than taking the roads, to avoid the battles and the "Taliban" movement.

Like "raising a child"

The region in which the nomadic tribes have woven the most delicate carpets in Afghanistan for centuries extends from the city of Kunduz in the north to the west, along the borders with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, all the way to the near south of Iran.

Shari moves from village to village based on the information provided by his network of collaborators.

A buyer would spend hours on carpets that were often woven by the bride's family to serve as the dowry for her marriage.

Most desirable carpets are tens of years old, decorated with tribal patterns, of hand-spun wool colored with natural dyes taken from the roots or petals of flowers.

The carpet should be washed and dried on the roofs for several months until the sun refreshes its color, or until it is carefully repaired, before it is sold in large cities.

He likens the buyer to repair or sell carpets to "raising the child", as "he demands hard work."

And it takes between six months and two years to make the carpet.

Ultimately, it could sell for thousands of dollars on the global market.

Abandon the profession

Abdul-Wahab is considered one of the most prominent carpet collectors in Kabul, as his group bought a piece by piece from carpet hunters.

"We depend 99.9% on these people," he says.

However, the face of this trade changed after decades of conflicts and migrations, during which cities and their inhabitants expanded.

The nomadic tribes have settled to a large extent, and families have abandoned many of the professions associated with making carpets, as merchants from the capital note.

This is due to the fact that cheaper products are now competing with their carpets, which are produced in large quantities by industrial workshops using imported wool and synthetic dyes.

"It's really sad," said Abdel Wahab, who also owns a shop in Canada.

He notes that the wool is Belgian, and the dyes are from another country .. There is nothing Afghan at all.

He complains that substandard copies are common in Afghanistan, as well as in Pakistan and India, making it difficult to sell high-quality rugs to customers who don't know the difference.

Some dealers do not hesitate to treat carpets that have been manufactured with chemicals, or wash them with tea to make them faded and make them look old.

Others go as far as slipping their cars on them to make them appear used, which helps them raise their prices.

Only a close examination from a person with experience in this field can reveal the true value of the rug.

But this art is in decay, as ancient hand-woven pieces are becoming scarce.

Malik .. or your soul?

Carpet hunter, Zalmai Ahmadi, from Herat (western Afghanistan), laments that “industrial-produced carpets have undermined the artisanal carpet sector”.

During his last two rounds, his yields did not exceed two carpets, noting that he would have returned from a similar tour, a few years ago, with dozens of pieces.

"The trips have become very difficult," he says.

(Taliban), government forces, or thieves might block us.

Either they ask you for money or they kill you. ”

He adds that in the past the searcher for carpets "was able to get anything he wanted, but now he cannot find anything."

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traders do not hesitate to carpet factory processing chemicals or washing to make tea and pale colors suggest that old.

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