Handmade Carpets

Carpets are made throughout Afghanistan, but most of the carpets that are exported are produced either in Kabul or across the north in a band that stretches from Mazar-e-Sharif to Maimana.  During the decades of chaos that began with the 1979 Soviet invasion, a highly complex Afghan carpet-making industry developed that relied on Pakistani exporters to get orders and sell the rugs made by Afghan refugees.  When many Afghans began to repatriate to Afghanistan after 2001, the carpet industry shifted with them. While the working relationship with Pakistani exporters continues, an increasing number of Afghan carpet-making companies have moved on and how handle all aspects of their business on their own.  Many have become vertically integrated.