- Title: ALGERIA: Villagers try to preserve traditional carpet making
- Date: 4th August 2009
- Summary: VARIOUS OF CARPET WEAVING TRAINING CENTRE IN BABAR VILLAGE VARIOUS OF YOUNG WOMEN LEARNING TO WEAVE CARPET VARIOUS OF WOMAN SPINNING WOOL DIRECTOR OF TRAINING CENTRE AND PRESIDENT OF THE POPULAR COUNCIL OF BABAR, TALOUS KHEMISI, DISPLAYING BABAR CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TALOUS KHEMISI, PRESIDENT THE POPULAR COUNCIL OF BABAR, SAYING: "We don't like these carpets to
- Embargoed: 19th August 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Algeria
- Country: Algeria
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
- Reuters ID: LVA2B4RKJM0TVXM54TCBFS6JN58E
- Story Text: People from the village of Babar are fighting hard to keep the tradition of carpet-making alive.
The village, located some 570 kilometres (350 miles) east of the capital Algiers, is famous for producing the most expensive carpets in Algeria. This has long since been a source of livelihood for the region, with foreign tourists visiting Babar to purchase carpets.
This traditional carpet-making process begins with a washerwoman who takes care of washing the wool in the village's river.
Mbarka Lacice is a washerwoman who religiously carries her stick and pail in order to perform her task.
"I wash the wool to make the Babar's carpet," she said.
After the wool has been cleaned, wool dyers dye the wool using natural pigments to give it colour.
Benkhaled Chaabane is one of the very few traditional wool dyers still in the business, and he said that their profession has been hit hard.
"Nowadays, very few work in this profession, unlike the past. There was work in the past. Nowadays, there isn't," Chaabane said.
The last 20 years has seen a decline in tourism, causing craftsmen to abandon their art. The lack of patronage from locals has also affected business.
"Sometimes there are no carpet sales, sometimes there are no tourists. Usually, foreign tourists come to our homes to buy carpets. Italians and Americans come to buy them because they love our work. But Algerians are saying 'What can we do with it' and 'It's better for us to buy other carpets'. But the carpet is an artistic work when you display it in the living room, it gives a beautiful view," said Nacera Benchenouf, a carpet maker who takes over the final steps in the carpet-making process.
In order to preserve this ancient tradition, officials created a training centre to teach young women how to make the traditional Babar carpet.
Talous Khemisi is Director of the Training centre and explains the reasons for its existence.
"We don't like these carpets to be forgotten. That's why we established this centre, so that we can give them the chance to learn, generation after generation," he said.
"We also want to decrease the percentage of unemployment. When the women come to learn this profession in the centre, they then go back home where they can make and sell these carpets," he added.
But to some this isn't enough, as government help is needed to address the issue.
"The problem is that carpet sales are low, so the craftsmen have failed. If there was more sales, they wouldn't 'fail' and would produce more. Sales are low because there aren't enough tourists. The ministries should help us," said carpet seller, Salah Bouzekri.
But with many tourists scared away by periodic militant attacks, the future of the Babar carpets remains bleak.
Algeria, the world's fourth largest exporter of natural gas and eighth biggest oil exporter, has for nearly two decades been fighting an insurgency by Islamist militants, who in the past few years have been affiliated to al Qaeda.
The violence has subsided significantly since the 1990s, when the conflict killed 200,000 people, according to estimates by non-governmental groups. But the militants remain a threat, staging periodic bombings and ambushes. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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