Cashmere Fiber Certification Standard in Afghanistan

Global demand for cashmere garments is growing as is awareness of the sustainability challenges involved in the production of the fiber. The SFA is a global multi-stakeholder initiative with a mission to ensure the long-term viability of the cashmere sector. The industry has given itself a target of 2025 to be 100% SFA-certified, and so this leaves Afghan cashmere producers in a very precarious position unless efforts are undertaken to establish a recognized certification process. Without the SFA seal of approval, the Afghan cashmere sector is at risk of virtual collapse and tens of thousands of livelihoods in this value chain negatively affected with the potential risk of reversing years of good work by many development projects, including ACEBA. SFA will establish a partnership with Dutch Committee for Afghanistan (DCA) who will serve as the primary service provider for SFA on the ground to facilitate project implementation and access to herder networks. Through this strategic partnership, DCA's extensive experience implementing animal health, welfare and livestock projects in Afghanistan more than three decades, particularly with regard to small ruminants, and access to herder networks will be combined with the expertise of SFA personnel regarding the SFA standard, training design, and program development for SFA certification. Through this grant, SFA will conduct a series of trainings for 5,000 herders/farmers (including 1,500 women), 15 traders/processors, and 16 stop-shop keepers through the partnership of DCA in the ground on the SFA standard with the long-term aim to reduce the environmental footprint and improve the livelihoods of at-risk herders, with active support and collaboration between the cross-sector institutions, processors and manufacturers, major brands, and retailers.