Unlocking The Gap of Sustainability: The Story of a Stop Shop Keeper in Karokh District

Mawlawi Kashmer is a breadwinner of his twelve family members in Shekhzada village of Karokh District, Herat Province, Afghanistan. The family was selected as one of the 335 stop shop keepers in 18 provinces that work together with 14,100 herder households. Mawlawi Kashmer also leads the cashmere association – a locally established platform to support the collection, processing, and sales of cashmere fiber.

Following the beginning of the support to stop shop keepers in the last 12 months, he established a shop, bought a weighing scale that uses a solar panel, and brought together 80 women. They work with him in the collection, spinning, weaving, and making carpets/bags of wool and cashmere. DCA provided a start-up grant, equipment, and training. Advice was given on building market links with traders. He also works with the women to make carpets using goat hair, and then sells them in his shop. “My awareness of cashmere and wool compounded by the increasing prices of the 2 products due to the effective campaigns by DCA and the DAI/ACEBA team made me perform better”, said Mawlawi Kashmer. The price of wool for instance has now increased from AFN170/4kgs to AFN600 for soiled, and AFN1,800 for clean wool.”

The profit obtained by Mawlawi Kashmer in just one season was AFN 66,746 after buying and selling 700kg wool, and 578kg cashmere. According to him, the profit was used to buy food items, support his school children, and also invested the money to expand his business. 

Figure 1 M. Kashmer explaining the activities of the stop shop

Currently, Mawlawi Kashmer said; “we are using nails and similar metallic tools which are fixed to the ground to make a frame for weaving wool and assembling carpets”. If DCA and its donors supply spinning and weaving machines, the project activities will become more sustainable according to Mawlawi Kashmer. He suggests an all-inclusive approach to mobilize the communities. Continuation of the project activities after the project ends is ensured by “a strong support from the farmers/herders and pastoralists”. “To sustain the activities, we need feed banks established by groups of herders, veterinary field units (VFUs) to provide services for a fee, networking of VFUs to avail of quality vaccines and medicines, strong awareness and training opportunities, and linkages with cashmere and wool traders”. The feasibility study to certify cashmere along with SFA and DAI is another important element to add to the holistic plan to increase the price of cashmere.    

Figure 2 A beautiful bag made from dyed wool by the women in Shekhzada Village of Karokh District

Five years from now, Mawlawi Kashmer sees himself and the communities working with him having increased their livelihoods by 50% with improved value chains of wool and cashmere at a higher price. For this to happen, said Mawlawi Kashmer, “the above suggestions of bringing the communities together along a holistic path is crucial”.