Carpets and Crafts

I was not in Turkmenistan for tourism but rather to help women (and a few men) artisans better understand Western markets so they could possibly sell their handmade goods to wholesale buyers in the US. I traveled through the country delivering a workshop called: “What US Buyers Look For” in products and in export partners, which covered Internal Business Issues: Product Development, Capacity Management / Quality Control, Pricing, Shipping; and External Business Issues: Marketing, Emphasis on Fair Trade, Communication. This is a workshop I’ve also given in Kyrgyzstan as well as countries in Africa, and while there’s definitely more information presented than can be reasonably absorbed in a day or two, it often plants seeds for what can be accomplished in the future.

Women with quite varied backgrounds and skills came together in the capital as well as small villages in the countryside to hear me talk about quality control, prices of competitive products and the critical importance of marketing their goods with a story that Western consumers can use to better understand Central Asian people and culture. This last point was one that was really resonated when I showed examples from India, Guatemala, Bolivia, Mali, Rwanda and other places around the world.

While much of the truly traditional clothes and cultural items are not easily translated to Western markets, by taking elements of these items there is certainly the opportunity to offer products that would be readily accepted. In particular, those artisans who incorporated old fabrics, patterns and embroidery with new styles and designs have a real opportunity. And if its carpets you’re after, Turkmenistan has some incredible choices – though they are not easy/inexpensive to export.

Unfortunately with the language barrier, a lack of regular and easy access to the Internet and a lack of clarity on the ability to ship commercially without hassle it will take a strong coordinator at the country level for most buyers to be able to access this market. The good news is that there is a regional Central Asian organization that is already in place and may be able to lend some more support to Turkmen artisans. It will require, however, that these artisans come together and cooperate more than they are currently used to doing. One big benefit of my workshops was that women started to realize that they can accomplish more by coming together than by worrying about competition with each other. This is not common for them as they are generally competing for scarce resources and thus don’t really have a culture of working together outside the family or perhaps neighborhood unit. The fact that an “expert” actually came to their market—and their villages—was also greatly appreciated as these sorts of activities are typically held in neighboring countries making it prohibitively expensive for artisans to attend.

Changes will not come overnight, but they will come and if I can have played a small role in helping this change come about then it will have been well worth the trip.