Villages of Kyrgyzstan will receive monetary aid of US$ 1.5 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to boost the handicraft industry of Kyrgyzstan, a landlocked country in Central Asia. At a meeting of the Committee for Budget and Finances, the Kyrgyzstan Minister of Economy, Temir Sariyev, said ADB will grant US$1.5 million to develop the handicraft industry of Kyrgyzstan.
The funds received from ADB, an organization working towards the growth of the Asia-Pacific region, will be utilized to improve the living conditions of the rural women employed in the Kyrgyz handicraft industry and help them establish small scale businesses, Mr. Sariyev said. According to an ADB statement, the specific objective of the ADB project is to increase income and job opportunities for poor women in selected rural areas of Kyrgyzstan by improving productivity, diversification, and products quality of the Kyrgyz handicraft industry.
The project will establish efficient marketing services and facilities and help to organize the existing handicraft centers of Kyrgyzstan. ADB expects more than 19,000 Kyrgyz handicraft producers and their families to benefit from these interventions. The Kyrgyzstan handicraft industry, primarily employing Kyrgyz women, has a long tradition of making decorative items from fabrics like felt and silk, and is best known for shyrdak or a stitched colorful felt wall-covering. The Kyrgyz carpets, famous for high quality and durability, are mainly made of wool or cotton and extensively use traditional Kyrgyz patterns. The other Kyrgyz handicraft items include ornate felt rugs, carpets and handbags.
