HAND-MADE IN QUBA

The northern regions of Azerbaijan are renowned for their school of carpet weaving. It combines the ornamental and technological carpet weaving traditions of not just the Azerbaijani people, but also the smaller 'nations' of the North Caucasus. It is no secret that industrial methods prompted many weavers, and not just in this region, to forget about their grandmothers' loom. But the forgotten traditions seem to have revived in recent years.

Preserve the traditions

The Azerbaijani Carpet Weaving Association "Carpet World" has taken it upon itself to support the people's art of carpet weaving in Quba. Founded as a company 20 years ago, it later became an association. It is run by Fatima Agamirzayeva. Why association? Because they are concerned not so much with orders for new, fashionable work as with the revival of those forgotten traditions.

Of course, in the early 1990s, they had to promote their business by attracting orders. It is no surprise that Fatima Agamirzayeva's workshop was not based on carpet weaving - it was a small sewing workshop or a kind of cooperative society founded in distant 1988. Of course, carpet production is a business that requires not exactly astronomical, but certainly substantial, investment, especially if it looks to the long-term like Agamirzayeva's business and the revival of the technology and ornamental design of ancient carpets. A lot of money is required for this, especially for raw materials - and also much hard work and time. The preparation of special local plants for the dyes takes a lot of time and effort. So they began with a sewing business. This does not need so much money and soon pays for itself.

But now it is not the customer who dictates "the rules of the game" to Carpet World dyers and weavers, but the other way round. Customers are pleased to get a product which is not a gaudy rendition of their own sketches or a standard carpet with mass-produced design and a dubious "hand made" origin. The people's traditions in ornamental art have now become fashionable. Carpet World now dictates its own rules of fashion in the region. But the company has had to weave hundreds of carpets to achieve this.

Since 2000, the Azerbaijani Carpet Weaving Association has specialized, as planned, mainly in restoring carpets. In any case, work with ancient carpets continues all the time. Carpet World is always taking in old carpets. Sometimes they are intact and sometimes so old that only separate fragments are left. They are used in order to copy whole ornamental compositions and individual elements (many of which have been forgotten). Some carpets made by the association carefully retain old motifs, while others are changed by the dyers Gunay and Tahmasib Tahmazovs. Married, they are also colleagues and both graduated from the University of Culture and Arts. Their works are deeply popular and at the same time, individual.

The carpet "Qobustan" is a good example. The strict "northern" lines convey with surprising accuracy the scantily painted, but very graphical, beauty of this region with its cave paintings of world renown. The carpet "Leyli and Macnun" is also very beautiful. But the tragic story of oriental "Romeo and Juliet" is conveyed by the painters in quite different colours - bright and contrasting.

Put in a word for the local indigo…

The association's specialists carefully preserve the colours and techniques of their grandmothers' art. The range of colours is dominated by the colour of the land (ochre, brown and green) typical of this region. Apparently, the very nature of this region, with its generous summer and cold winter, affects the colours of local carpets, which have sharpened over the centuries.

As for the technology, carpets here are woven wholly from wool, not cotton as is customary just now. This means both warp and weft are made of wool. The dyes are also natural: indigo, cochineal and others. "All these riches are literally at our feet here," Fatima said. "I collect this cochineal virtually from dumps. There are so many plants in our woods which provide sturdy colours. These plants are not so rare, it's just that no-one pays attention to them. Azerbaijani indigo is better than any foreign indigo, although our carpet weavers always look for something made abroad and do not value their own dyes…"

Apart from carpets, the association also makes small gifts - from mini-carpets used as coasters to traditional socks. This is important for many reasons. Firstly, tourists are happy to buy gifts. Secondly, material remnants are not wasted. Thirdly, we have to take into account the fact that the company's outworkers are usually married women who do not always have a chance to sit at a machine, while they can all find time to weave a pair of socks. And finally, these socks are a whole science that should be preserved and supported no less carefully than the secrets of carpet weaving. Tell me please if there is any local woman who can weave socks properly today. We can weave all sorts of fancy, foreign-looking socks, but not our own simple, popular socks.

"I want to be regarded as a human being!"

The association has 60 carpet weavers now. They are not only residents of Quba, but also outworkers from surrounding villages. This means several dozen jobs, if you look at it from an economic point of view. From the local residents' point of view, the association is also good for potential brides. All the girls working here are hard working, talented and modest and have a good dowry: a girl here has woven her carpets herself and has bought everything else with her own money. Not every man can make this money in such an out-of-the-way place. Attractive brides, in a word.

It is to be regretted that, having married, most of the carpet weavers leave their job and dedicate themselves to their husband, children and family. Some of them still work for the association as outworkers. But it is exactly for this reason, both joyful and sad, that the teaching of new, young carpet weavers has become a permanent process. This business is run by senior carpet weavers whose life is closely linked to the association. So, in one way, Carpet World can been seen as a carpet weaving course. As its staff get married, families in the neighbourhood acquire rare and useful skills.

In any case, not every modern young girl living in the provinces is interested only in getting married and becoming a housewife. All the schoolgirls who work here after school say almost in chorus that they want to go to university.

"A town of masters"

Fatima Agamirzayeva herself is trying to help restore the glory of the carpets of northern Azerbaijan not just in deed, as head of the carpet weaving association, but also in theory. She has written a number of special books. Incidentally, she has a degree in agronomy. But she has always been fond of craftwork and, in the end, it became her job for life. Of course her education comes in quite handy at times - as, for example, when she had to arrange plots for dye plants in the small house where Carpet World is based. Nevertheless, Fatima Agamirzayeva uses all her economic skills and knowledge to engage her own and others' sewing and carpet weaving skills in practice and to describe her experience in her books.

Her first work was a purely applied publication - a manual for special secondary institutions of education, "Learn to Cut and Sew". It was published by the Azerbaijani state printing house in Cyrillic in 1998. In her book she described, in a somewhat non-standard way, the foundations of a handicraft which seems to have long been studied by mankind, i.e. the book was not just a standard manual for beginners. In addition, the author did not have the "right" diploma. For this reason, there are quite a few people who opposed this book. But strange as it may seem there are even more opponents now. According to Fatima Agamirzayeva, her manual is still actively used by pupils of professional technical schools which specialize in this sphere, but… it is actually banned by teachers. It is difficult to say whether the Cyrillic alphabet is the reason for this or not. Maybe it is something else. "They are given other manuals, but they hide mine under the desk and learn from it because it is the clearest. The Cyrillic alphabet is no obstacle to them," Fatima said proudly and sadly. If this is the case, it is a pity that such a useful manual has still not been published in Latin script.

Now Fatima Agamirzayeva is working on a book on Azerbaijani carpets ordered by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. It will reflect the priceless experience gained by carpet weavers while working on hundreds of their works. As a creative person, Fatima Agamirzaye-va does not forget about her public activity. In 2002, she represented our country at an international forum of women leaders in Geneva where she was elected an honorary member, winning the title of "the best entrepreneur of the year". It was in Geneva that she submitted a project called "A Town of Masters" to specialists for their consideration and then proposed implementing it at home. The project plan is to organize a system of workshops similar to the Carpet World association, specializing in other spheres (not just in carpet weaving and sewing business), in which orphans and children from one-parent and needy families could obtain a profession. This project is under consideration at the moment. However, this process has been quite lengthy because, according to Fatima, it should be implemented under the control of several ministries simultaneously. It is not easy to coordinate the work of several ministries, especially in such a big project. But we will hope that a "Town of Masters" will be established in the next few years.

The Quba centre to assist women's and family businesses was set up on a similar basis to the Carpet World several years ago. It is also headed by Fatima Agamirzayeva. It is working under the aegis of the Ministry of Economic Development within the framework of the UN Development Programme. This businesswoman, who has managed to walk an independent line along the path of entrepreneurship and conquer many heights, is now teaching this art to others.

One of holy books says the following: the best thing that you can do for a person is to give him work. Another holy book says that you should be thankful to anyone who shares their knowledge with you. So this means that Fatima Agamirzayeva is doing not just a useful job for society, but also a godly job…