While in Mazar we went to what seemed a remote village, but surprisingly, it was just on the outskirts of town. We saw silk being prepared as it was dyed in a caldron before being woven. We were able to purchase local silk fabric.
Our guide and local business woman, Nooria has forty-plus families, like the one pictured above, weaving silk. She is helping to revive the traditional Afghan silk making process. The raw fiber is brought here from Herat and the rest of the process happens in Mazar and then silk is sold all over Afghanistan.
Nooria shared stories about her experiences running her underground business and her tenacious encounters with the Taliban. She told us of one occasion when they came after her. She donned a burqua and pretended to be the housekeeper, escaping from an unwelcome situation with them. She is an amazing woman and is the head of a group of Afghan business women in the north which totals more than 300.
Debbie Farah 