I live in these all Fall, Winter and Spring. Mukluks keep your feet warm, are comfortable and soft. Dancers love them, too!
Knit Mukluks from Pakistan and Afghanistan
I get the mukluks, mittens and gloves from my former gallery partner, Abdul Wardak of Afghan Tribal Arts, who imports them directly from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Hand-knit out of recycled sweaters, refugees from Afghanistan began making these for the Western market in the 1970's. Today, knitting remains a vital source of income for many low income families and women.
Mukluks are available with leather soles and without.
I get two kinds of mukluks from Abdul, with and without leather. The leather soled ones will be selling on eBay for $18 and the ones without for $16. The photos here are pretty representative of the colors and quality of most of the mukluks. I haven't started photographing the new ones and am hoping that some of you out there will want to buy them sight unseen. This will save me a lot of time, effort and cost (eBay fees just keep going up!).
So, here is the deal:
Order in quantities and get the following discounts:
1-5 pairs, 10% off
6-10 pairs, 15% off
11 pairs +, 20% off
Tell me what your color preferences are and I will get as close as possible. Most of the mukluks come in two colors, usually a light and a dark one. You can say blues, reds, pink, black, or be more general like pastels, earthy, bold or bright. I bought a shoe sizer, so this year I will have an easier time at that, too.
Same thing goes for the mittens and gloves, which are $7.50 a pair. The mittens are traditional and run on the larger side, fitting most adults.
The gloves are fingerless with an attached cap. The photos below show an average pair:
Fingerless Knit gloves from Afghanistan and Pakistan
If interested, either leave a comment or use the contact me link at the top right hand corner of the blog. Purchases of these help support Abdul's business and all these wonderful knitters! Afghanistan's infrastructure is a mess, so any income the women can make through their handicrafts is definitely needed income! These make great Christmas gifts, too, so hopefully the discounts will encourage you to buy in quantity.
New Arrivals: Knit Mukluks and Mittens from Afghanistan!
I saw my first Folkwear Patterns in an ethnic shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota over twenty years ago. "Wow!", I thought, wishing I could buy what a college pocket could not afford... Since then, I have acquired several of the patterns and actually made a couple of them into garments. I also had the immense pleasure of meeting owner Kate Matthews on a visit to Asheville, North Carolina, several years ago.
Folkwear Patterns are a standard for anyone interested in costume design, world culture or ethnic wear. Like me, you might remember the first time you saw the patterns, or, perhaps this is your first encounter. Sometimes we may think that everyone already knows about an incredible resource such as this one, but there is always a new generation coming up or new interests emerging that call us to bring up the old standards.
Folkwear Patterns take their inspiration from clothing worn throughout various parts of the world as well as historical time periods. Thematic categories divide these into the following: Americas, Asian, Caravan, Children, Frontier, Old Europe, Retro, Romantic, Accessories. The patterns serve theater and performance groups well, but most are also functional for today's eclectic fashion taste. Choice of fabrics can make all the difference in making a piece look dated or contemporary. Let me start with a pattern that I have actually made into something wearable, which also happens to be a big favorite with Folkwear customers:
#107 Afghani Nomad Dress This comfortable dress is easy to make and wonderful to use up favorite fabric pieces. I made mine out of silk that I had reclaimed from other dresses. Worn out long ago... This is one example of a dress that can look very ethnic or quite contemporary depending on fabric choices and colors. It is also a great piece to incorporate authentic remnants from other cultures, such as the ones I sell in my Etsy store. Here are a couple of examples of the dress:
Another pattern I own, but have not sewn yet, is also a big favorite: #112 Japanese Field Clothing
I love roomy jackets and loose pants. But, if I remember correctly, one of the reasons why I have never made this pattern is that the version I have is on the small size. I'm a big Viking type and many of the older Folkwear pattern versions were too small for me. They have re-worked many of them to reflect our unfortunate reality of being overweight in America. But, make sure you check the dimensions carefully before you buy a pattern or cut it up. Most are easily enlarged- it just takes some patience.
#114 Chinese Jacket
This Chinese jacket is based on a formal court robe from the Ming Dynasty. Another wonderful example of how contemporary a garment can be with today's fabric selection. Folkwear also sells the closures in their Accessories section. The jacket is a perfect piece for silks or velvets.
Perfomers and theater groups all over the world use Folkwear as a costume resource. Although many of the patterns can be adapted for belly dance costumes, Folkwear offers one that is specifically for them. #144 Tribal Style Belly Dancer Here is another opportunity to use embroidery and textile remnants! The pattern includes instructions for the choli, bra, pants, skirt, scarf and belt. All of which could be used with other outfits as well.
Some of the culture specific patterns can challenge the beginner's sewing or embroidery skills. For the experienced, they offer an opportunity to show off needle work. The #125 Huichol Wardrobe collection's simple garments beg to be covered in embroidery. See myHuichol Yarn Paintings: Visions Destroyed by Poison for lots of images of the Huichol in their native dress. They have no fear of covering their canvas with with every color under the sun!
#103 Roumanian Blouse offers a similar opportunity to make the most of your embroidery skills. I think it is so interesting how cultures around the world overlap in so many ways in their dress and other customs, yet translate them into something uniquely theirs! And, in our multi-cultural and always changing environment today, what was hip in the 1970's, back when Folkwear started, has come and gone in the mainstream several times, making these pieces timeless. Folkwear's historical patterns are lots of fun! The #201 Prairie Dress can be worn with or without an apron. I think I have seen this pattern here in Kentucky where many touristy businesses have their employees dress up in old timey wear.
Of course, the glamorous side of history (or, her story?) cannot be ignored! The #264 Monte Carlo Dress is something I would definitely wear if a moment of glamor popped up around here! I hear it crying for bead work, lots of it! And, don't forget, Halloween is coming up. If you are planning on going to a costume party, let Folkwear help you be the star! So many options to choose from! Dress them up or down, but use them!
My friend, Catherine, from Bazaar Bayar just listed a few collars that are perfect for Folkwear patterns. She does not have a consistent source for them, so once they are snatched up, they will be gone. (Better go get them quickly!)
In celebration of Folkwear's 30th anniversary, they have published a 20 page booklet based on the Bethany Dress which was featured as a fold-out poster in their early years.
#011 Bethany Dress
Folkwear has been around a long time now, quietly providing all of us a wonderful service. Even if you don't buy anything from them right now, why not visit their site and send them some Happy Birthday wishes? Let's hope they will be around for another thirty years!
Note: All of the photos and drawings (except for Catherine's collar) are from Folkwear's website. This post just highlights a few of their patterns. Visit them to see the whole collection.
War rugs became a popular motif in Afghanistan after the victory over the invasion of the Soviet Union in the late 1970's. My former partner, Abdul Wardak, from our Chicago gallery, Dara Tribal Village, imports rugs, beads and a huge assortment of new and old crafts and artifacts from Afghanistan. The war rugs he brought in always inspired heated debates and were quickly snatched up by collectors.
After 9/11, war rugs began to depict the Twin Towers and images of the the American presence in Afghanistan. The best source I have seen for war rugs is appropriately named Warrug.com. They have a huge selection of rugs, stories and data on the origin and weave of the rugs. This is an example of the Twin Towers motif:
The banner through the middle shows the two flags of the United States and Afghanistan and a dove of peace. Warrug.com describes the history of how women began weaving these rugs:
The Art of Making Their Voices Heard
"For thousands of years, the women of nomadic tribes in what is now Afghanistan and its environs have been weaving rugs by hand. The oldest known and intact example of these rugs in the world is the “Pazyryk” rug dating from the 4th century B.C. (currently housed in the St. Petersburg Museum). These traditional pieces of folk art have long depicted the same deeply rooted motifs and patterns, with occasional images derived from the artist’s everyday experiences. However, about 25 years ago, all that suddenly changed. Following the 1979 Soviet invasion into Afghanistan, rug dealers began seeing drastic alterations in the content of Afghani rugs. Tanks replaced flowers, rocket launchers replaced vases and airplanes replaced abstract borders!
After the Soviet departure from Afghanistan the new ruling power instituted the strict Muslim Sharia law which governs the religious, political, social, domestic and private life. This law stripped many Afghani women of basic rights including banning them from talking to men outside of their family, walking outside alone, or working. Women were also made to abide by the practice of purdah which is the seclusion of women from public observation by having them wear concealing clothing from head to toe, like a burka, and by the use of high walls, curtains and screens erected within the home. This separates the women from learning about the outside world in order to make them ignorant of the practicalities of life and deprives the woman of economic independence by not allowing them to work outside the home. In order to keep females submissive, women know only what their fathers, husbands, and sons want them to know. The women who practice purdah have no voice or free will.
For women who break the fatwas, or edicts, associated with Sharia law, including purdah, there are dire consequences including harsh beatings or even death. Additionally, since Sharia law dictates that it is taboo to represent animate subjects in art; weavers were no longer allowed to portray images of birds, animals or people.
Thus as the artists iconography changed so did their outlets for expressing it. Those living outside of the war-torn Afghanistan can’t comprehend the reality of living in a world where the images depicted through the rugs are a part of everyday life. To the women of Afghanistan the rugs have become a way to make their voices heard and to communicate to the rest of the world what they live with everyday.
This new category of rugs has been termed “war rugs” and has sparked an underground movement in the art world. Many collectors see the rugs not only as art, but also as historical documents and a testament to the times."
NPR's Jim Zarroli interviewed Warrug.com's owner, Kevin Sudeith, in a moving piece while they were at a flea market in New York. Passersby stopped with either admiration or disgust for the rugs. The interview concluded with whatever the reaction, the rugs are a powerful testament to the political reality of and on an ancient culture.
My cyber-friend, Morna from Bittersweet, posted a political video on McCain that I had been trying to see for days, but something seems to be wrong with YouTube. Morna titled her post, "Be prepared to be scared--- watch the horror movie--McCain will make Cheney look like Gandhi." Like Morna, I share a profound interest in politics (although she is a lot smarter than me!). I finally got to see it and it was very disturbing. Here it is:
If YouTube is not working for you either, the clip speaks to McCain's military history and his position on Iraq and its surrounding neighbors. A critic of McCain states that he will likely continue to seek a path of war in many hot spots of the world, including a possible invasion of Iran. The critic says that if that this happens, retaliation will happen and we might as well just pick which US city will be bombed out. New York again? LA? Boston? Just pick one. The prospect is frightening.
I went to leave Morna a comment and saw that someone had already posted one there. This blogger was annoyed at Morna's use of political content on what is primarily a fiber arts blog. She basically told Morna to start a separate political blog. Intrigued, I visited the poster's blog, expecting it to be all about art. Ha! Her son is in the military (several photos of him), a military video, and other posts that had nothing to do with art (dog, flowers, Olympics), etc. But, wait a minute? Nothing to do with art? Actually, everything has to do with art! Life and all that it contains informs our body of work. What was happening here was that she simply did not agree with Morna's political position. "So, go somewhere else, Morna! I like your art, but not your politics. Go talk about that part of you where I don't have to look at it!" As I started to think about this, I felt myself seething inside. Not about her political position, but about the hypocrisy of dismissing someone else who obviously shared the same passion for a subject, but not the same platform. Get that log out of your eye, woman!
I knew I would have to write about this, but the topic brings up so much personal history for me that it is difficult to target what angle to address. Religion and politics are the two subjects most people either don't want to discuss or feel so passionately about that they can't listen to another view point. It's easy to blog about pets, grandchildren, flowers, or other niceties in our lives, but not so easy to stick your neck out into the guillotine of certain judgment. Regular readers of this blog will have caught on to the fact that I am not a Republican. All four (or five) of you (heh, heh) also know that I have a secret agenda of bringing people together from different cutural and religious backgrounds through fiber art. Hopefully, the log in my own eye is not so big that I cannot make reasonable connections with people who are different from myself: culturally, politically, ethnically, racially and whatever other "ally" is out there. And, I hope I can wade my way through this keeping my neck intact...
In the past five days, the posters have appeared mysteriously on walls and buildings across San Francisco. They feature the most enduring image of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal -- the Iraqi man, hooded, his hands tied with electrodes -- but this time, the prisoner is set against an American flag, and this time, the image is juxtaposed with a headline that reads, "got democracy?"
The poster is designed to make people question whether the United States is adhering to democratic ideals if American soldiers have been guilty of widespread prison abuse, if the Patriot Act continues to trample civil liberties, and if Washington continues to instigate questionable policies, says the poster's co-creator, San Francisco novelist Robert Mailer Anderson.
"It's not pro-Democrat, it's not pro-Republican -- it's supposed to make you think," says Anderson. "Do these people in Iraq have democracy? And do we have democracy? from the San Francisco Chronicle
The United States has a long history of both political dissent and protest through art. The world around us informs our thoughts, decisions and artistic content. Morna is not a political artist, except that perhaps her American flags might evoke passion. I find it interesting that the flag is present on both blogs, yet I am sure that as a symbol it represents completely different ideologies for both.
Morna's booth at a show.
The American flag is known around the world. It represents different things to people who may feel proud when they see it or angry, afraid, relieved, or disgusted. Rarely does it evoke indifference. Why? Because the United States has made itself a physical presence in almost every country of this world. This flag brings trade, aid, poverty, wealth, health and war. So, some artists will react to what they see and make statements through their art on their political position. And, those who write or blog, will take the "pen to paper" (keyboard to screen?) and voice their opinions for or against what they see. This is called democracy. Government by the people, even if they don't agree with each other. Some artists abhor what the United States is doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, while others support it.
What we, as Americans, do overseas has profound consequences that can last for generations. When 9/11 happened, the world wept with us (except for a minority of nuts who succeeded in making their awful point). The weeping stopped when our government abused its power by using public lament and fear to secure its interests in the Middle East and Central Asia. Public protest against the United States has seen unprecedented participation in the last eight years (ahem, the Bush years...). I spent the first 18 years of my life in Brazil as a missionary kid. In the 1960's almost every Roman Catholic home there had a portrait of the bleeding heart of Jesus to one side, a statue of the Virgin in the middle, and a portrait of John F. Kennedy on the other side. Jimmy Carter was and still is well-loved. President Bush does not hold that esteem in Brazil:
BBC News reported that over 10,000 protestors turned out in Sao Paulo when President Bush visited in 2007. The Culture Kitchen blog concluded, "This is a time when world opinion is solidly against America. This is dramatically show by a recent poll that showed that people view America as marginally MORE destabilizing a force than North Korea and only slightly less destabilizing than Iran. To the world, America is part of the Axis of Evil." In another post they also stated something that I had not heard before and found interesting:
"A moment I've been dreading. George brought his n'er-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida; the one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work."
From the REAGAN DIARIES------entry dated May 17, 1986.
So this is the guy we had shoved down our throats and who John McCain wants to emulate.***
(***Note: An anonymous reader left a comment saying that this statement about Reagan is incorrect. Snopes documents it in an almost as interesting post: http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/kinsley.asp. Great to have attentive readers and great for such a wonderful tool as Snopes!)
Do we really want all this anger directed to the United States? BBC News reported on protests against the war around the world in March 2006:
Unknown News dedicates itself to reporting news that is not known or not known enough.They state in their page, updated monthly, on casualty statistics in Afghanistan and Iraq:
"At least 687,079 people have been killed, and 1,318,163 seriously injured in Afghanistan and Iraq during the U.S. and coalition attacks and occupations, based on lowest credible estimates.More than 98 times as many people have been killed in these wars and occupations than in all terrorist attacks in the world from 1993-2004.About 229 times as many people have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq than in the ghastly attacks of September 11, 2001."
McCain's official page makes some vague promises of helping Iraq reach stability and not leaving until they can govern on their own. Then, what I find scary:
"Call for International Pressure on Syria and Iran
Syria and Iran have aided and abetted the violence in Iraq for too long. Syria has refused to crack down on Iraqi insurgents and foreign terrorists operating within its territory. Iran has been providing the most extreme and violent Shia militias with training, weapons, and technology that kill American and Iraqi troops. American military spokesmen have also said there is evidence that Iran has provided aid to Sunni insurgents.
The answer is not unconditional dialogues with these two dictatorships from a position of weakness. The answer is for the international community to apply real pressure to Syria and Iran to change their behavior. The United States must also bolster its regional military posture to make clear to Iran our determination to protect our forces and deter Iranian intervention."
What does it mean to bolster military posture so that Iran understands our intent? It doesn't sound peaceful to me.
Well, I think I have made my political point on a fiber art blog: Artists have voices, the voices will not agree with each other on many things, but it is our right to use them in all that is important in our lives, be it dogs, kids, flowers, or politics. I believe that unless this path of violence is not curtailed, we are going to lose a lot of our dogs, kids, and flowers, so political voices are especially needed in this time of danger. Am I scared? Petrified.
However, fear does not bind me or blind me. Neither has it filled me with hate. On the contrary, I understand why people want to respond with force. I watched both conventions. I understand that Obama is criticized for his lack of experience and I had to roll my eyes, too, when his speech finally came and was full of those over used catch phrases that everyone had used before him. I felt empathy towards McCain and all that he had suffered as a prisoner of war and his long service to our government. I liked his wife and thought it was wonderful they have this Bangladeshi daughter. I am not a political scientist or expert, but I listen, read, discuss, and try to inform myself. After all of this, my conclusion is that Obama offers the only hope that we, as a people, can redeem ourselves before the world. If McCain is elected, disaster lies ahead for us. My hope is that Obama will surround himself with a think tank that will use every peaceful means available to solve this mess. He may not have much experience, but he knows how to ask the right questions and the world abroad is thrilled about him. That in itself is worth alot!
I am the lone Democrat in a Republican family. At least that is my perception- we have agreed to disagree on both religion and politics, so we don't talk about either. I live in a Southern State where many of the people I know have served in the military, have relatives overseas and are Republican. I understand why. The military is a career option that offers much more stability (even if you get shot at a young age...) than what is available around here. I love them all, my Republican family and friends. Whatever we believe in, we must learn how to get along, how to accept diversity, and how to be respectful with each other and that begins at home. And, Morna, whatever political post you have on Bittersweet, you can bet that I will be there to read it!
Every few months I get a big bag of new textile stamps. I buy them sight unseen and just got my newest order. Usually there is a whole range of sizes, but this time, most were in the medium range, around 5" or 13 cm square. I've been offering first dibs to my regular customers through my website, but now that I have this blog, I'll make the offer public.
I photograph the stamps front and back and write the number and price on the back. The discount saves me labor and cost by not having to spend time or money on the listing. Dimensions are not given. Those of you who are familiar with the stamps will know that very small ones are about 1" in diameter and go for $5 and the biggest ones are up to 14" wide and go for $25 or $30.
This is how it works: Go to my website and look at the thumbnails. I just loaded 60 new blocks at the top of that page. I will list another 60 or so in a couple of weeks when I have the rest photographed. E-mail me back with the numbers you are interested in. Because there is no shopping cart, all hell kind of breaks loose in the beginning. I go through the requests as they come in, notify of availability, buyer confirms what she or he wants, then I send a paypal invoice. So, although an image might be sold it might still be there. I try to clean them out as quickly as possible, but it gets kind of crazy.
Returns: You can return any stamp you don't want for a refund on its price. I do not refund shipping.
Shipping: I use the USPS flat rate envelopes and boxes, which really save a lot of money for these heavy blocks! I can usually fit two or three of the medium ones in a $5 envelope and can fit quite a few in a $9 box. Shipping overseas can be pretty expensive, but usually does not go over $40. Fortunately for those of you who are shopping in Euros and Pounds, you are getting an extra deal with dollar being so low... (sob, sob...)
Further Discounts: Purchases in the United States over $100 get free shipping. I will cover the first $20 in overseas orders that are over $100. You can combine other purchases from my stores on eBay or Etsy to reach that $100 (and you don't have to stick to just the stamps), but you do have to go through their check out processes. If you go through them (I have a bunch of stamps listed in both stores) and are charged shipping fees even though your purchase total is over $100, I will refund your fees when I print the shipping label on Pay Pal.
Textile stamps are new to you? Don't know what to do with them? Well, they are wonderful objects in their own right, but also great tools for fabric, paper and clay artists. The stamps can be inked as a regular stamp (with dye or acrylic paint) or they can be pressed into clay or paper pulp. Read my past articles to learn more about them and to see images of how they have been used. The Zucchi Collection is also a wonderful site with historical information on English textile stamps. Here are a couple of books that might also be inspirational:
I have several of them around my house as objects. My fantasy is to tile a whole wall with them!
These stamps are old (20-30 yrs or more) and have been used in workshops in Central Asia. Some are used as borders, others are focal pieces. All of them show signs of wear, have nicks or imperfections. These can be repaired with wood filler, but most of the artists I know like using them as they are, achieving a distressed effect. The stamps are carved out of pear wood, have been smoked and dyed with black ink. Be sure to clean them well with soapy water and a scrub brush before using them on your fabric or paper!
Are you using textile stamps in your work? Leave us a link in the comments below so we can see what you are doing with them! And, now.... let the madness begin!
New Textile Stamps In! 10% Discount Offer on Direct Purchases
I just finished reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. My mind is reeling with the determination of this man, Mortenson, and by Relin's wonderful story-telling abilities. The story is basically this:
Mortenson, obsessed with mountain climbing fails at an attempt to top this big mountain in Pakistan, K2.
Image courtesy Central Asia Institute K2, the world's second highest mountain. Pakistan.
There's bad weather, he gets separated from his companion, almost dies, takes a wrong turn and ends up in a little village, Korphe. The title of the book, "Three Cups of Tea" has a different meaning from what I expected when I started reading it. I thought that in Arabic circles, a guest was given a cup of tea on arrival, a second when negotiations were half-way finished and a third when it was time to go. In this context, the third cup of tea means that you are now family.
Image courtesy Central Asia Institute Azerha with her children in Korphe Village. Pakistan.
The people of Korphe help Mortenson get his strength back and when he is well again, this big American guy who sticks out like a sore thumb now has a new family in this remote Pakistani village. Mortenson had a mission when he was climbing K2. His sister Christa, who had been ill as a child and suffered from epileptic seizures as an adult, had died of a massive seizure on her 23rd birthday. Mortenson loved his sister and pursued a career in nursing with the hopes of finding a cure for her. When he climbed K2, he had a necklace of Christa's in his pocket wrapped in a Tibetan prayer flag which he was going to plant on the summit in memory of her. Instead, after ending up lost in Korphe, he decided to build a school in her memory. This is how it happened:
"Often during his time in Korphe, Mortenson felt the presence of his little sister Christa, especially when he was with Korphe's children. "Everything about their life was a struggle," Mortenson says. "They reminded me of the way Christa had to fight for the simplest things. And also the way she had of just persevering, no matter what life threw at her." He decided he wanted to do something for them. Perhaps, when he got to Islamabad, he'd use the last of his money to buy textbooks to send to their school, or supplies. Lying by the hearth before bed, Mortenson told Haji Ali [village elder who became Mortenson's mentor] he wanted to visit Korphe's school. Mortenson saw a cloud pass across the old man's craggy face, but persisted. Finally, the headman agreed to take Mortenson first thing the following morning. ... The view was exquisite, with the ice giants of the upper Baltoro razored into the blue far above Korphe's gray rock walls. But Mortenson wasn't admiring the scenery. He was appalled to see eight-two children, seventy-eight boys, and the four girls who had the pluck to join them, kneeling on the frosty ground, in the open. Haji Ali, avoiding Mortenson's eyes, said that the village had no school, and the Pakistani government didn't provide a teacher. A teacher cost the equivalent of one dollar a day, he explained, which was more than the village could afford. So they shared a teacher with the neighboring village of Munjang, and he taught in Korphe three days a week. The rest of the time, the children were left alone to practice the lessons he left behind." [pages 31, 32]
Instead of just getting some supplies as a thank you and tribute, Mortenson goes back to the United States, determined to bring back enough money to build these kids a school. He suffers all kinds of deprivation, comes back, buys the supplies, makes it back to this remote area, and the village rejoices. The men carry the lumber up on their backs where trucks are inaccessible:
Image courtesy Central Asia Institute Porters carry roof beams 18 miles to Korphe School. Pakistan.
After all this hard work, Haji Ali tells Mortenson that this is all wonderful but that first they need to build a bridge (they had been using a box on a pulley system to get from one side of a pass to another) and that they needed clean water as so many kids were dying from lack of good water. Mortenson realized that in order to study, these children would first need to survive their first years. So, he goes back, suffers some more, makes all kinds of mistakes and blunders into his first large donation that makes it possible to build this first school. By then, he is hooked and this becomes his life's mission.
The Central Asia Institute was then formed although for the first years, it was Mortenson's dogged determination that represents the U.S. side of the operation. On the Pakistani side, grass roots leaders were invited by him and they helped him make the needed connections to open new schools all over this desperately poor region.
The common denominator in the building of these schools is that the village leaders want the schools for their kids, including for their girls. They beg, plead, line up, demand, cry, and pool all their resources together to make dreams become reality. This is not an American coming in and saying, "Get your kids educated!" This is about communities already starving for places, materials, tools, who have their own raw materials, their children, as central to their hopes and dreams. So, over time and much hard work, it starts to happen. Children who were learning outside, begin having their own schools.
Image courtesy Central Asia Institute Girls study at an outdoor school in an Afghan refugee camp. Pakistan.
Image courtesy Central Asia Institute Eighty-one boys attend school in an abandoned truck trailer in Chiltan Village. Afghanistan.
Image courtesy Central Asia Institute Patika schoolgirls study outside after the 2005 earthquake in Azad Kashmir. Pakistan.
Image courtesy Central Asia Institute Lalander School. Afghanistan.
Mortenson's failed climb to K2's summit was in 1993. By the time 9/11 happened, he had already an established network of support in Pakistan. He has never tried to impose American or Christian ideology on these people. Instead, they use Pakistani curriculum along with extras like health and nutrition. Study of the Koran, of local folklore, of Urdu and other languages are also included. Mortenson's job is to insure that schools remain in good condition, that teachers are paid and that basic services the community needs are addressed. The goal is that eventually, these schools will become self-sufficient.
After 9/11 Arab monies also recognized the region as ripe for indoctrination. Overnight, Saudi money began building fundamentalist madrassa schools. Mortenson realized that his schools now served another purpose. They ensured a balanced education that would help children become reasonable adults. Thus, the subtitle, "One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time." As the region became more volatile, Mortenson's life was endangered by fundamentalist opposition in Pakistan as well as anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States. Finally, a couple of reporters reached wide audiences in a couple of stories of how these schools help relations between the United States and Pakistan, between Christians and Muslims. More money came in and Mortenson was able to fulfill another dream: to build similar schools in Afghanistan. The guy went by himself into wild territory that was heavily mined in Afghanistan and put his life in the hands of a local tribal leader. With machine guns pointed at himself, Mortenson explained who he was, that he wanted to build schools in the region and could they use his services? A local translator spoke excellent English and when they realized that he was Dr. Greg, a feast was ordered (with lots of tea) and work in Afghanistan began.
Image courtesy Central Asia Institute Greg Mortenson with Gultori schoolchildren. Pakistan.
As I read this book, I identified with much of Greg Mortenson's philosophy and approach to life. We are both children of the 4th World, kids who grew up in another country and who have no real nationalistic ties. He was a Lutheran missionary kid in Tanzania and I was a Lutheran "mk" in Brazil. Growing up overseas, many of us naturally gravitate towards professions that have international or humanitarian dimensions. But, I don't have his stamina and determination. I don't like to be cold, am scared of heights, terrified of guns, and would never, never, never, be able to do what he does. But, I can and do rejoice in this man's gift to humanity, to all these kids, and to the contribution he makes to global understanding.
The highlight of the book, for me, was when one of his earlier female students completes her education in Korphe's school and walks into a meeting of a group of elders who are sitting with Mortenson and demands that she get a scholarship to complete her education off the mountain. She later comes back to continue to work with the village. Mortenson stresses the importance of educating girls and the village elders not only agree with him, but chuckle at this girl's spunk and welcome her leadership roles.
This blog is about fiber related issues. So how does this story fit in with that? Well, one of the things Mortenson realizes as he is building this school is that the village women also need a place to meet and money to get started in cottage industry production. All of the schools have an area where the local women can meet, sew and he has procured sewing machines for them. I read an article a long time ago about the connections local craft economies have with education, farming and production. Nature's cycles dictate when people can plant and harvest and in the winter, craft production is a natural filler and income generator when crops don't need tending.
On a broader level, everything we do is connected. Those of us who can't climb mountains can promote peace, understanding, conservation and other good things by the life styles we choose. We can enable others to practice their craft skills. We can develop our own. I find it tragic how people fight so hard for basic needs such as education, housing, health care, and the opportunity to have meaningful work and then once there is affluence, these basics lose relevance. We all have children in our communities who are neglected. We all have mountains to climb. And, we all have cups of tea that can be given out to our still unknown family.
Image courtesy Central Asia Institute Greg Mortenson with Khanday schoolchildren. Pakistan.
These schools need continued support. Please visit the Central Asia Institutes's website and if you have children or work with children, see if their Pennies for Peace program is something you can start in your area. If you would like to purchase a copy of the book, use this link and 7% of the sales proceeds will go directly to help support the schools: http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
My best sellers on eBay: Mukluks!
Knit Mukluks from Pakistan and Afghanistan
Mukluks are available with leather soles and without.
So, here is the deal:
Tell me what your color preferences are and I will get as close as possible. Most of the mukluks come in two colors, usually a light and a dark one. You can say blues, reds, pink, black, or be more general like pastels, earthy, bold or bright. I bought a shoe sizer, so this year I will have an easier time at that, too. 
The gloves are fingerless with an attached cap. The photos below show an average pair:
Fingerless Knit gloves from Afghanistan and Pakistan
