U.S. set to award $1 million contract to expand the market for Afghan carpets

[Turborama]

Source: Washington Post

By Glenn Kessler -
Washington Post Staff Writer -
Monday, August 16, 2010 -

Afghanistan is a nation of weavers, with some 1 million people helping to hand-knot intricate patterns of delicate wool. But it is also a nation at war -- one that lacks factories and the equipment that would suit a proper industry.

Nearly all rugs made in Afghanistan are shipped to Pakistan for washing and finishing -- then relabeled "Pakistani."

Now, U.S. officials, hoping to stem what they see as a huge loss of potential income and jobs for Afghans, are getting into the rug business.

The Pentagon is poised to award a one-year, no-bid contract worth about $1 million to Tremayne Consulting to expand the market for Afghan carpets, a senior defense official said, speaking anonymously under rules set by the Pentagon.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/15/AR2010081502908.html

[maxsolomon]

1. it took 7 years to figure this out?

when are we getting into the opium business instead of trying to eradicate the crop? it DOES have legitimate uses.

we're too far down the road to salvage this debacle.

[Turborama]

4. Well, we know what happened from 2003 until now - Iraq

In fact, the redirection of attention and forces on Iraq dates back to 2001, as excellently timelined here: http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=afghanwar_tmln&afghanwar_tmln_us_invasion__occupation=afghanwar_tmln_us_redirection_of_forces_to_iraq

The medicinal opium idea seems like a no-brainer, too.

[valerief]

6. The war criminals are making way too much money off the stuff illegally. nt

[WhiteTara]

10. pomegranates are more valuable than

opium. Unfortunately, the soldiers keep destroying the fields.

[Turborama]

12. Saffron and honey are other alternatives, too

Honey, Saffron are Weapons in Afghanistan Battle: http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Honey-Saffron-are-Weapons-in-Afghanistan-Battle-100533544.html

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. It seems to me there is already a surplus of these carpets.

Been to a carpet shop lately?

[maxsolomon]

9. that would require money with which to purchase goods

so, no, not many of us have been rug shopping lately.

[The_Casual_Observer]

14. It costs nothing to browse, which by the size of the inventories

of the places I've seen, is all anybody ever does. How many unsold $5000-$25,000 carpets does the world need?

[Turborama]

15. Where are the places you've seen?

Just curious.

[The_Casual_Observer]

16. Ever been to ABC carpet in Manhattan for example?

[Turborama]

17. No. Have you heard that Aghan rugs are actually treated as collectible investments, though?

And the size of a store's inventory doesn't prove that they aren't selling anything. Do you mean to say that because the shelves aren't empty they can't be selling any rugs?

Economics

Hundreds of Afghan American people are involved in the Oriental rug business, and many frequent the Middle East in search of merchandise. Approximately 97% of the Afghan rugs has been transacted under other countries' names like Iran and Pakistan. However, Afghan businessmen or traders with the help from the government of Afghanistan are seeking ways to end this. Many Afghan carpet weavers work in neighbooring Pakistan in that country's carpet industry where they have successfully incorporated their designs as well as using Pakistani enhanced wool. Afghan products are beginning to regain its popularity today.

Afghan businessmen in the United States received more than one million US dollar demands for further quality handicraft mat after all their rugs put for display were sold out. In early 2008 the Afghan carpets were put for display in another international exhibition in Germany, out of 1442 carpet producers from 80 countries across the globe Afghan carpet won the first position in the competition. Afghan carpets are known to be expensive, but are extremely durable and gain more value as they get older.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_rug

I can't see anything wrong with trying to help Afghans regain the ownership of their own rugs and assist the rug makers themselves (especially the exiled ones who want to go home) and, to be honest, don't understand why anyone else would.

Weaving themselves back into the Afghan social fabric
http://www.unhcr.org/495e12f74.html

Afghan returnees pick up the threads after years in exile
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/57e95765772b3e39c1256d18004fdc47

Oh, and America isn't the only market for these rugs.

[The_Casual_Observer]

18. It's okay by me if they want to make more of them. However

as with any collectible item, if the supply far exceeds the demand they tend not to be collectable anymore, and the discounts continue to increase along with the unsold inventory.

It takes forever to make one of those rugs, as it is, even at a high price it seems almost impossible that the weaver is making any sort of living doing it.

[Turborama]

19. I don't think you read my reply properly

There's a lot more involved than the question I posed in the title.

[Turborama]

20. In answer to this edit...

"even at a high price it seems almost impossible that the weaver is making any sort of living doing it"

That's why 'Fair Trade' is so very important and is what this project (the one in the WP article) is aimed at instituting.

[maxsolomon]

25. i tend not to browse things i cannot afford and do not need

the cause of suffering is desire.

[Turborama]

26. "the cause of suffering is desire"

Reading that comment has made me want to read more about Buddhism. Thanks.

[Enrique]

3. I knew it

this war has always been about carpets. :tinfoilhat:

[KansDem]

8. Well, remember the "carpet of gold/carpet of bombs" statement?

Until now, says the book, ''the oil and gas reserves of Central Asia have been controlled by Russia. The Bush government wanted to change all that''.

But, confronted with Taliban's refusal to accept U.S. conditions, ''this rationale of energy security changed into a military one'', the authors claim.

''At one moment during the negotiations, the U.S. representatives told the Taliban, 'either you accept our offer of a carpet of gold, or we bury you under a carpet of bombs','' Brisard said in an interview in Paris.

According to the book, the government of Bush began to negotiate with the Taliban immediately after coming into power in February. U.S. and Taliban diplomatic representatives met several times in Washington, Berlin and Islamabad.

Democrats

...and the Afghans responded with, "How about just carpets?"

[formercia]

5. Promoting Child Labor

I was speaking with a rug dealer at the Rawalpindi market one day and we had a discussion about the amount of labor that goes into the rugs. It may take several Months to complete on and the work is mainly done by children, since, by the age of 14 or so, their fingers get too big to manipulate the material.

[valerief]

7. Well, the US has taken the non-elites of the world for a ride. Now it's a magic carpet ride. nt

[Lance_Boyle]

11. Tremayne consulting the small business networking shop?

http://tremayneconsulting.com/default.aspx

Huh? A no-bid DoD contract to a Texas networking consultancy firm to push rugs? Is there another Tremayne Consulting out there?

[Turborama]

13. It's worth reading the whole article

To get the full picture.

[InkAddict]

21. Not TX firm - See fbo.gov page - There were three interested vendors....

Tremayne Consulting LLC
958 Adelphia Road Adelphia NJ 07710
Adelphia NJ 07710 US

Email: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=64...
===========================================================================================================
Here's wired.com's take on it:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/operation-throw...

The Interior and Defense Departments announced last month that they were looking for help with the rug trade. Vendors, they said, must have at least “20 years of hands on experience in the washing and finishing of hand-knotted carpets,” “demonstrable experience overhauling hand-knotted carpet sectors in post conflict regions,” and a “minimum of 50 business relationships with high-end retailers in Europe and North America.”

Apparently, Tremayne, the New Jersey company, was the only outfit that fit the bill. “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements,” the departments announced on Wednesday.

“The Afghan carpet industry requires essential training and know-how development in the field of carpet washing and finishing – an essential element of the value chain of any high-end, hand-woven carpet.” Tremayne is there to “operationalize the effort.”

Tremayne will also be responsible for landing 15 Afghan suppliers and finding three shipping routes out of Afghanistan that are “commercially viable (i.e., reasonably secure and consistent).” Once those routes are scoped out, Tremayne is supposed to put together an international sales hub in Istanbul, secure “commitments from a minimum of 5 major institutional buyers,” and start building “a market for the Afghan brand” with “strategic marketing & public relations.”

(GOOD LUCK W/THOSE TASKS)

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/operation-throw...
===============================================================================

I got mixed feelings on this - OTOH - This seems very strange and suspicious. What's rolled up in those carpets, anyhow????Although I looked around, probably not in the right places, I couldn't find out how this shop has such expertise in eastern carpet making or what their political leanings/contributions,etc...may be to land such a strange DoD contract...Anyway, OTOH, I hate to see handmade craftsmanship, juvenile, albeit, go down in flames. The toll on the people of this country has already been shamefully (ours) executed upon them - The carpets can be durable and beautiful w/subtle or brilliant color. Furthermore, it doesn't appear that Pakistan will be in any position to worry much about fine carpet washing and finishing,that I assume requires abundant quantities of clean water, but do have a tremendous need to feed quite a few of their countrymen, women, children, and livestocks.

[Turborama]

22. "I couldn't find out how this shop has such expertise in eastern carpet.." Did you read the article?

"I couldn't find out how this shop has such expertise in eastern carpet making"

No, you probably didn't look in the right place, the article in the OP...

The project is modeled on an initiative in Iraq, where the Pentagon sought to rebuild the carpet business after J. Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, disbanded all state-owned enterprises. And, just as in Iraq, the Pentagon is turning to the same expert -- London-based Richard Ringrose, for many years the vice president for Oriental carpets at New York's ABC Carpet.

=snip=

Ringrose, under Pentagon contracting rules, was prohibited from speaking publicly with a reporter. The defense official and a person involved in the contract said that Ringrose would seek in the next year to establish training facilities for washing and trimming in Mazar-e Sharif and Herat, where much of the Afghan carpet weaving is centered. He will also create an Istanbul "hub" where foreign buyers unwilling to travel to Afghanistan could examine the merchandise.

=snip=

Scott Gilmore, executive director of the http://www.peacedividendtrust.org/en">Peace Dividend Trust, a nonprofit organization that works in Afghanistan, applauded the concept. "I think it is a great idea," he said. "It is the sort of thing that aid agencies should have done five years ago."

=snip=

Defense officials were so impressed by Ringrose's expertise that they essentially designed the contract to match his qualifications. The http://www.aqd.nbc.gov/Business/uploads/18420_RFI.pdf">requirements include a minimum of 20 years of hands-on experience in the washing and finishing of hand-knotted carpets, 30 years' experience in carpet management production, carpet experience in post-conflict regions, a minimum of 50 business relationships with high-end retailers in Europe and North America -- and conversance in French, German and Turkish.

=snip=

"There is a very, very small group of true experts in the hand-knotted industry," the defense official said. "We raised the bar to reflect the expertise you need to overhaul an industry."


I think maybe I should have linked to the full page version or something, here it is for easy access: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/15/AR2010081502908_pf.html

This is also linked to in the OP's article:

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation and Notice of Intent to Sole Source for Afghan Carpet Industry Overhaul in CENTCOM AOR (primarily Afghanistan, Turkey, and Iraq) for TFBSO.

Solicitation Number: N10PS18420
Agency: Department of the Interior
Office: National Business Center
Location: AQD - Herndon

Solicitation Number: N10PS18420
Notice Type: Modification/Amendment
Synopsis: Added: Jun 22, 2010 11:01 am Modified: Jul 21, 2010 9:46 am

Full notice of intent: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=6426df26341256cae99b608201c32d20

Why does everything have to seem "very strange and suspicious"? It wasn't necessary to go hunting around for a conspiracy theory to find out what you said you wanted to know, just read the full article instead.

And there really was no need for this insensitive quip: "Furthermore, it doesn't appear that Pakistan will be in any position to worry much about fine carpet washing and finishing,that I assume requires abundant quantities of clean water,"

[western mass]

23. some people are going to make a lot of $$$

and it ain't going to be poor Afghan carpet weavers.

[lunatica]

24. All cynicism aside, I hope this works

But what with those minerals and the oil they seem to have just discovered I don't see Afghanistan ever escaping profound corruption by those who have power. It seems to be a country destined for hard times no matter what.

[JohnyCanuck]

27. Considering how the Afghan drug trade really took off under US occupation

Maybe they'll be able to do the same for the carpet trade too.