An exhibition of works by the best Turkmen artisans of folk applied art took place on September 30 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ashgabat. The exposition was held as part of the Lebap Handmade Exports (Lebap HME) business incubator program, which started in Turkmenistan this spring.

The vernissage for visitors became a beautiful journey into the world of national creativity of the Turkmens. There was an “immersion” into the atmosphere of the expedition to search for master craftsmen of the Lebap region, whom the project organizers collected as a result of the Lebap HME competition. In Ashgabat, 11 finalists presented their creations, including folk craftsmen and artists- experimenters.

Gulyalek Velmuradova, head of the Lebap Handmade Exports project, spoke about how the Orient program was launched:

— I represent the USAID Future Growth Initiative on the development of entrepreneurship and the business environment. This is the first project that we carried out in the region and the uniqueness of this program is that we were able to attract artisans from Turkmenabat and the most remote areas of Lebap.

I want to say that the project radically changed the masters themselves and their lives. There was a “reboot” - at the beginning of the journey, people who were not entirely confident in themselves came to us, in some cases even frightened with their fears. Over the course of six months, 20 Lebap HME program participants gained valuable skills in product design, social media marketing, copywriting, product photography, and digital marketing.

And today, completely “updated” people appear before us - they confidently conduct presentations of their products and are already present on local and foreign marketplaces. Of the 20 craftsmen, 11 registered as entrepreneurs and officially run their own business, turning their hobby into a profitable business.

The program also provided good opportunities for networking and collaboration, including with new business partners and online stores in the United States, which is a major target market for sellers of Turkmen handicrafts.

From “home” craftsmen, they turned into successful businessmen. And most importantly, their products are in demand - literally in the first week after registering on the eBay marketplace, a buyer from Japan purchased a Turkmen “kilim” carpet. In short, the project transformed the lives of many craftsmen; they believed in themselves and realized that people from different parts of the world like and purchase their creations.

In the first hall of the museum, the participants of “Lebap Handmade Exports” were located in the center - they presented festive costumes and everyday outfits in ethnic style, samples of traditional weaving and carpet weaving, accessories and interior items decorated with national embroidery, carving and painting, headears, ceramics, souvenirs, bowls with relief and painted decorations, jewelry and silver decorations and much more. Everything is made by hand, a major part in a single copy.

On the same day, the project organizers held a competition among the ten finalists of the program. Each participant made a presentation of their products and presented new business projects to the jury and spoke about their achievements during the period of participation in Lebap HME. Three artisans became winners of the creative competition, and the youngest participant in the Lebap project, 15-year-old Gulzada Nazarova, received a special prize from the judges for originality.

Gulzada is the author of unusual bags made of pearls and beads, which she creates using weaving techniques.

— I was 13 years old when I first saw on the Internet an instructional video on how to make a bag of beads with your own hands. I really liked the idea, and I decided to try to create an unusual handbag for myself. Of course, it didn’t work out right away, but I really wanted to surprise my friends and shine with a sparkling handbag, unlike everyone else’s. I began to continue working and very soon mastered this craft. And today, with my products, I am participating in a large exhibition in the capital,” the young craftswoman told Orient.

First place in the competition was taken by Maysa Ovezova, a carpet weaver who weaves national lint-free carpets “kilims” and, as it turned out, they are popular not only among local buyers, but also foreign ones. They are happy to purchase products from Lebap craftswomen under the Nusga brand through foreign trading platforms.

It must be said that Maysa, a mother of three children, was also a participant in another project related to digital technologies. She learned how to create programs for handmakers and also took a prize.

— The projects radically changed the life of me and my family. The knowledge gained in the projects helps me run a successful business; I plan to expand, attract employees and increase sales of my goods,” the winner of the competition shared her impressions.

The second and third places were taken by clothing designers from Turkmenabad Myakhri Baltaeva and Gulchahra Achilova. They create national and modern outfits that can be safely worn to evening receptions and other festive events. Each craftswoman has her own unique style and decorative elements.

For example, Myakhri Baltaeva has her own “trick” - she decorates dresses made of velvet and keteni with national ornaments made of beads. The traditional patterns of “changa” and “kyurte gochak” in her dresses are embroidered with sparkling beads and add splendor and sophistication to the evening dress. But coats, trench coats and floor-length capes, decorated with a pattern of silk threads, fur and fringe, will be appreciated by even the most demanding fashionistas.

The designer offers magnificent jewelry for her dresses - brooches, pendants, earrings, bracelets, embroidered with beads and glass beads, as well as handmade heagears and bags made from keteni and embroidery. As a whole, the image is complete, and the clients are satisfied that they were able to purchase so many beautiful things that combine with each other in one place.

Another winner is Gulchakhra Achilova, a third generation seamstress. She not only comes up with models for her outfits, but also sews them herself.

— I started sewing when I was 12 years old. It probably couldn’t have been any other way, because my two grandmothers, my mother, and my aunts were seamstresses. For as long as I can remember, I have always come up with different styles, experimented and sewed the whole family, and my three daughters have always been my models.

I have been in this profession for more than 30 years, I opened a studio, held a show of my own clothing collection in Turkmenabat, I continue to create beautiful outfits and plan to further expand my business. And all thanks to the “Lebap HME” program, in which I was invited to participate by one of the organizers Gulya Mailievna Tadzhieva, who really liked my work. She supported me at all stages of the project with advice and kind words and gave me strength and confidence to move on,” competition winner Gulchahra said.

The Turkmenabat seamstress has her own golden rule - to work without waste. Eco-friendly, as they say now. Her mother and grandmothers taught her this. From small scraps and remnants of fabric, Gulchakhra creates another new product - jackets, dons, quilted robes, blankets, cotton mattresses and much more. And everything looks fashionable and practical. “I like to make a new thing out of nothing. It all depends on the imagination of the needlewoman. Each piece of fabric turns into a wardrobe item or useful household utensil. This is what I teach my students,” Gulchakhra Achilova says.

At the award ceremony, EU Ambassador Beata Peksa, addressing the event participants, noted that in the European Union, where there are no longer borders and where everyone enjoys the free movement of people, goods, capital and services, free trade is believed to bring people closer and help to better understand each other - traditions and culture. And this contributes to better cooperation, dialogue and peaceful coexistence, the diplomat said.

Indeed, creative projects, including “Lebap Handmade Exports,” literally erase almost all boundaries - territorial, age - more than a hundred talented craftsmen and artists from different parts of the country took part. The youngest participant in the Ashgabat exhibition is 15 years old, and among the competitors there are those who are over 70.

The debutants of the project were two pensioners, handmaker sisters Nazilya and Alvara Rakhmankulovas from the city of Turkmenabat. They create various models of bags and shoppers from textiles, decorating their products with embroidery, drawings and a wide variety of accessories, emphasizing the color and history of the region. The craftswomen captivated the conference guests with their enthusiasm, energy and colorful presentation. “We are 75, but we feel like we are 25. In a few months we have mastered a new craft, our products are in demand not only in Turkmenistan, but also abroad. Dozens of bags were bought by foreign clients through marketplaces, now we have many orders and big creative plans for the future,” the Rakhmankulova sisters said in their speech.

As one of the organizers of the exhibition, Tadzhigul Kurbanova, better known as Gulya Mailievna, said: “When people begin to engage in creativity, they radically change themselves from the inside, change their environment, bring positivity and well-being to the family and gain spiritual space. Positive metamorphoses occur, the negative goes away, other interests and a different approach to life appear. By creating unique and beautiful things, they become joyful and happy.” This means that art projects achieve their goals.

Let us recall that the first stage of the Lebap HME program started in April 2023 in the city of Turkmenabad with the support of the Delegation of the European Union to Turkmenistan, the USAID Future Growth Initiative project, as well as the National Commission of Turkmenistan for UNESCO.

The organizers plan to launch similar projects in other regions of the country and open new craftsmen to the world and teach artisans to earn money by doing what they love.

ORIENT news