Revival and preservation of cultural heritage. The “Born Nomad” project was launched in Kazakhstan to support women’s entrepreneurship and domestic craftspeople. It is aimed at bringing the craft art that was once in the life of our ancestors, to a new level and also to foreign markets.
“It was made in order to support particularly the business field, to support craftspeople, teach artisans so that they are able to make a professional product, launch brands, pack their product properly, market it, successfully sell it both in local and foreign markets. There is a danger that this can simply dissolve, and since crafts is our cultural code, we just cannot let ourselves to lose our identity,” said Aika Alemi, Art Director of the ‘Born Nomad’ project.
A Kazakh designer Dana Ashimova applied for the project as well. The woman sews dresses, headwear, jackets and sleeveless jackets manually, decorating them with colored felt prints. She also uses the patchwork technique. And despite the fact that Ashimova has been in the fashion industry for only six years, she has already become a member of a dozen major fashion events, and most importantly, a member of the Eurasian Union of Designers and the International Union of Craftspeople.
“First of all, participation will give me moral satisfaction. I want to keep up with others and be on a par with other participants. I’ll probably make a panel on a national theme. When they say that patchwork or felting came from different countries, I always wonder why? Because actually it’s our traditional craft. And this is the moment when we are reviving it. But we are not reviving it in the way it was before, but on a different level,” designer Dana Ashimova noted.
It is intended to be a large-scale project where participants will be able to present their works to the general public on an online platform. As part of the project, it is planned to launch a nationwide talent competition, where the best of the best will be awarded not with traditional gifts and cash prizes, but with export contracts. And it will end with a large-scale forum and festival. The project was launched by the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs in cooperation with the U.S. Embassy to Kazakhstan.
Translation by Saniya Sakenova and Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Saule Mukhamejanova
