The Turkmen’s struggle – (Extended)

- (2020 Grant recipients of Pulitzer Center)

The Turkmen lady in the city of Aq Qalla is checking the quality of the vegetable dyes and the wool used to weave Turkmen style rugs. These are traditional sources of income for Turkmen families living in the northeastern part of Iran. The Turkmen people need to sell these items to support their families and put food on the table. Turkmen rugs are a type of handmade floor-covering textile that originated in countries in Central Asia, such as Iran. Nomadic tribes typically produced the rugs using locally sourced materials, like wool from their animal herds, vegetable dyes, and other natural dyes produced from the land. Rug weaving is a collective task. Four women usually work together to create a single rug. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the practice of social distancing, no more than one person at a time is allowed to work on one rug. Thus, fewer people can benefit from this job. On the other hand, as the economy is slowing down, the demand for rugs has declined. Consequently, the price of rugs has also dropped. Many of these ladies have started looking for other sources of income.