“Crafts and Traditional Knowledge” Public Foundation

Kyrgyzstan

Year(s) attended: 2010

“Crafts and Traditional Knowledge” Public Foundation

Felt Work, Embroidery and Kurak

The harsh mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan are home to dozens of nomadic sheep herding communities, each with its own distinct style of dress, adornment, and traditional arts.

In each tribal community, master artisan families ply their trade from generation to generation to make the decorative carpets, wall hangings, bed sheets, coats, hats, traditional jewelry and other items to adorn their traditional yurt dwelling places as well as their everyday and festival life.

Even today, artisans still rely almost solely on the materials at hand—hand carded and spun sheep’s wool, natural vegetable dyes, handmade felt from sheep and goat wool, and hand crafted spinning wheels made of willow twigs and wood.

The Crafts and Traditional Knowledge Foundation was founded in 2006 by Dinara Chochunbaeva--a beloved art patron of Central Asia—to support and preserve the traditional knowledge and handcrafts of the Kyrgyz people.

In addition to ongoing training programs, symposia and seminars designed to sustain the quality of the traditional arts of Kyrgyzstan, the Foundation also works to find new and expanding markets for their display and sale.