When war came the weavers were forced to leave their homes. Many settled in Pakistan or Iran, where the looms were once again set up. At this time wool was still exported from Afghanistan, enabling the craft to continue outside the country’s borders. However, as there was no other work available the number of untrained weavers involved in carpet weaving grew, with the result that the quality of the product went into decline.

Over the past 15 years Aschiana, the school for street children, has been training women and children to make carpets at home, at times in secret. At one point its Director Mohammad Yousef was taken into custody by officials who were suspicious of his work with foreigners and baffled by his interest in helping the disadvantaged. Yet Aschiana continued to operate. Looms were provided and today many of its students are making and selling carpets from their own homes.

The NGO Co-ordination of Humanitarian Assistance (CHA), known for its relief work, has also initiated a home workshop that allows people to continue weaving in spite of their family commitments. Under a UNESCO-funded initiative, ancient carpet and tile designs have been copied from museums around the world and given to CHA to create traditional carpets with natural dyes which can be ordered in any size or colour.

Pacific Carpet Company has been making high quality carpets with natural dyes in Pakistan for 10 years. This company recently returned to Afghanistan with its looms and has now set up a factory outside Kabul. However, cheap factory-made imports from Iran are still flooding the market despite customs regulations forbidding their importation and few Afghans are able to afford the higher-quality hand-made ones.