Afghanistan
Turquoise Mountain
In the spring of 2008, I was invited to Afghanistan by the charity Turquoise Mountain. I was asked to design a collection of jewellery drawing on traditional Afghan design, and to promote the many gems that are found in Afghanistan.
I worked with the workshop in Kabul where we created a collection to sell in the west to help promote the work the Foundation is doing, as well as raise an income to help support schools started by Turquoise Mountain to help young men and women to learn skills in traditional craft like jewellery, ceramics, woodwork and calligraphy, as well as the careful restoration of the ancient architecture of Kabul.
I was stunned by the beautiful quality of light and a sense of the vastness found only in central Asia, this feeling that the land just stretches away forever in every direction. The city is partly in ruins and yet the extraordinary human spirit that allows children to laugh and play, babies to be born, ladies to sit and gossip and men to work despite the chaos, violence and tension all around.
The first collection made was inspired by the ancient Bactrian gold, using the working of etched silver and gold together, using the beautiful deep blue Lapis Lazuli found in the old mines of Badakhshan, sparkling emeralds from Panjshir, rough glowing rubies and soft pink coloured Kunzites, watery aquamarines and rainbows of tourmalines.
It was a wonderful experience to spend time in such a fascinating country and work with craftsmen who were full of stories of their lives in this war torn country. All the craftsman had been refugees in Pakistan while the Taliban were in power, as they had not been allowed to sell or make jewellery, so now they were home and able to set up a workshop and start working.
The first collection was inspired by different techniques and designs from around the country, large tribal torques with smooth lapis pebbles, delicate rings with uncut chunks of emerald, chains with charms of birds from the Kutchi nomads and gold wrapped pebbles of ruby and the crescent moons and stars of Islam.
The next trip in 2009 a new collection drew influence from the stunning Turkman and Uzbek traditional jewellery, we mixed turquoise and lapis to create pendants with dangling chain fringes reminiscent of Turkman wedding veils, lapis rocks drop from handmade chains on earrings, large link chains inspired by the work of the ancient Greeks in Asia over two thousand years ago complete the new collection.
It has been a wonderful experience and privilege also profoundly disturbing in the hopelessness of the wider political situation but inspiring to work with such remarkable and talented and brave people.
A few weeks after I left, the workshop was again destroyed in the bomb that for the second time blown up the Indian Embassy. Everyone at the workshop survived but many around did not. Turquoise Mountain helped rebuild the workshop the first time, and after the September 09 attacks has since helped the workshop relocate and work goes on.
February 2011
I have just returned from my forth trip to Kabul creating a new collection with the craftsman at the Turquoise Mountain Charity. It was bitterly cold and the clear vast skies of central Asia seem to go on forever.
The workshop (inside an old shipping container) which is criss-crossed with Afghan woven carpets and just space for the eight men who were grinding and polishing pebbles of Lapis Lazuli from the ancient mines of Badakshan, setting the angel pinks and greens of Kunzite from Azajib as well as soldering chains together. Soon, the first lady will graduate from the Turquoise Mountain School of jewellery and will be joining the workshop to work on the collections. This is a very exciting and historic move.
I was in awe of the work Turquoise Mountain had done and the achievements within Murad Khane in the old part of Kabul. There has been slow and painful restoration of the 150 year old buildings - in an area that had become a slum, nine feet deep in rubbish (mainly littered with plastic bags). It has now been dug out and cleared away, drains have been built, and electricity and running water have been brought in. This neighbourhood now has a primary school, the first primary health clinic built to service (50,000 people who had no direct access to health care before), a literacy centre, a library, computers, and an institute of Afghan arts and architecture that teach English and business skills.
These projects have transformed an area where heroin addiction and unemployment was rife. In hiring 400 local men a day, training them with restoration and construction skills, it has meant a huge change in the quality of life for the residents. I was so inspired and delighted to see where the money raised in part by the sale of the jewellery collections had been helping to bring about such change.
The collections I have designed in Afghanistan always draw on traditional Afghan design and materials. The new collection has again worked to celebrate the diversity of beautiful gems found in the country. I had imagined dancing necklaces of the nomadic Kuchi people and incorporated the beautiful natural dyed woven silks.
The collection is for sale at the shops and online.