Empower a woman and you empower a nation.
Educate a woman and you educate a nation.
At Scaapi we represent unique yarns that have been made with consideration for both man, animal and environment. We have always aimed to align ourselves with yarn suppliers that serve the community they live in by empowering, educating and offering secure employment to women and men that struggle to make a living and have little or no education.
In our quest to add more unique yarns that also serve the community we contacted Stella van Himbergen of Dutch Design in Development to help us source quality suppliers of beautiful yarns. When Stella informed me about Cashmere yarn from Afghanistan and the good work Mr.Hotak is doing, I wanted to form a part of this yarn and tell it's remarkable story.
The Sustainable Agriculture program (ASAP) teamed up with Mr. Abdul Basir Hotak, at the time a 15-year veteran of the Afghan cashmere industry. Together, they installed the country's first scouring and de-hairing equipment, allowing Mr. Hotak to process and add value to the fiber in-country. ASAP provided herders with veterinary assistance to improve herd health as well as training in how to harvest the cashmere through combing rather than shearing. These two steps helped to dramatically improved the quality of the raw fiber. The higher quality fiber fetches a better price for the herders. As a result of ASAP and follow up work by key players, the Afghan cashmere industry has transformed itself into a global provider of luxury cashmere fiber.
While working as a consultant for USAID in 2011, Susan Inglis, the founder of From The Mountain yarn, was contracted by (ASAP) to work with Mr. Hotak to improve the cashmere supply chain in Afghanistan and to bring new economic opportunity to rural areas. Mr. Hotak had long seen the potential for developing Afghan cashmere, and he seized the opportunity to invest in building a supply of this premium fiber. He sourced a network of spinners in remote areas and is now managing a cottage industry that supports over 100 women.
In our quest to add more unique yarns that also serve the community we contacted Stella van Himbergen of Dutch Design in Development to help us source quality suppliers of beautiful yarns. When Stella informed me about Cashmere yarn from Afghanistan and the good work Mr.Hotak is doing, I wanted to form a part of this yarn and tell it's remarkable story.
Afghanistan is home to 73 million cashmere producing goats. In 2007 the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) reported that only 30% of the goats in Afghanistan were being harvested for fibre.
The Sustainable Agriculture program (ASAP) teamed up with Mr. Abdul Basir Hotak, at the time a 15-year veteran of the Afghan cashmere industry. Together, they installed the country's first scouring and de-hairing equipment, allowing Mr. Hotak to process and add value to the fiber in-country. ASAP provided herders with veterinary assistance to improve herd health as well as training in how to harvest the cashmere through combing rather than shearing. These two steps helped to dramatically improved the quality of the raw fiber. The higher quality fiber fetches a better price for the herders. As a result of ASAP and follow up work by key players, the Afghan cashmere industry has transformed itself into a global provider of luxury cashmere fiber.
While working as a consultant for USAID in 2011, Susan Inglis, the founder of From The Mountain yarn, was contracted by (ASAP) to work with Mr. Hotak to improve the cashmere supply chain in Afghanistan and to bring new economic opportunity to rural areas. Mr. Hotak had long seen the potential for developing Afghan cashmere, and he seized the opportunity to invest in building a supply of this premium fiber. He sourced a network of spinners in remote areas and is now managing a cottage industry that supports over 100 women.
