Gallery

Rug Weaver

A village woman hand weaves a large wool carpet. While this carpet bears the traditional Teke Tribe symbol, it uses a less-traditional white background (as opposed to the traditional red). The wool is hand spun, and dyed by the weaver and her family. The woman works from memory, no pattern is necessary, she says, because she has been weaving carpets for decades. She carefully, but quickly ties each knot; never wasting any of the precious spun wool. Off camera, the weaver's daughter explains that she is learning the family trade. She says she spends eight or more hours per day kneeling over carpets like this one, working along side her mother and trying to master her mother's technique and speed. "It's difficult work. It hurts your back. A lot of girls choose to go to the city to find a job." she says. A carpet this size will take the two of them several months to complete.

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From Turkmenistan