The quality and export of Kashmiri rugs have declined, but one young woman is putting pride and decent wages back into the traditional craft. In a region where such female entrepreneurship is a rarity, she says training makes all the difference.
SRINAGAR, Kashmir, India (WOMENSENEWS) -- Arifa Jan began making namdas, rugs created from felted wool, when she knew that the traditional craft was at a low point.
Just 10 years earlier, 98 percent of the namdas that were produced in Kashmir were exported, Jan says. But since then, this had fallen to 2 percent.
SRINAGAR, Kashmir, India (WOMENSENEWS) -- Arifa Jan began making namdas, rugs created from felted wool, when she knew that the traditional craft was at a low point.
Just 10 years earlier, 98 percent of the namdas that were produced in Kashmir were exported, Jan says. But since then, this had fallen to 2 percent.
