From 15 to 18 August Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation organisesa study trip for handicraft entrepreneurs and community developers of Tajikistan’s Pamir region with the intent to help the participants gain experience and obtain knowledge and ideas to implement in their home country. The participants include five persons who specialise in handicraft and are actively engaged in community development in the peripheral Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in Pamir area.
This is a follow-up activity for the project implemented during 2014-2015, which focused on the development of the production/marketing of Pamir natural products and herbal medicine.
This new project, supported by Estonian development cooperation, will include further development of women’s entrepreneurship (contributing to the improvement of women’s social status in Tajikistan), organisation of trainings on the modernisation/development/marketing of handicraft, and purchase of sewing and knitting equipment for the community cooperative. Local activities will be carried out in the mountainous Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region which forms ca 40% of Tajikistan’s territory but is home to only 3% of the population. The region’s capital lies approximately 500 km from Dushanbe and its socio-economic situation is poor. Another common theme of the project is the introduction of Pamir heritage culture and sustainable development of the region.
During their study visit to Estonia the participants will learn about the cultural heritage of the Peipsi region, handicraft of Russian Old Believers and Setos, and the development of other regional products. They will visit the Pop-Up Café Day of Setomaa and the Russian Film Days in Kasepää ambulARToorium – both being a good example of community cooperation and development of traditional culture. In Tallinn the participants will visit Telliskivi Creative City and attend a project seminar where representatives of Estonian Folk Art and Craft Union and handicraft enterprises OÜ Villapai and Külluslikud Etnokudumid will speak about their experience.
Read more about the project: http://www.ctc.ee/running/rural-enterpreneurship-in-tajikistan
For more information:
margit @ ctc.ee