VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBUL #1313/01 1521021
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311021Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4147

UNCLAS KABUL 001313 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, PRM 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT:  Proposal for 2008 Julia Taft (Ambassador's) Fund 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  This is a proposal for value-added production training 
from Zardozi, an Afghan non-profit organization.  The project would 
train 20-30 women in eastern Afghanistan in value-added textile 
production for international and domestic markets.  This project 
will bring the current value-added jobs in Pakistan back to 
Afghanistan and provide important livelihood opportunities for 
women.  The project is small enough to be funded by the 2008 Julia 
Taft Fund. 
 
Project Description 
------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Zardozi is one of the only NGOs in Afghanistan that produces 
high-quality embroidered items for the international market.  They 
also focus on richly embroidered wedding apparel that is essential 
in Afghan weddings in Afghanistan and among the Afghan diaspora. 
The project would train 6-8 women in transforming the individual 
embroidered pieces (made by 1,000 Zardozi-supported home producers) 
into finished products, e.g., turning a $1 embroidered square into 
an $8 garment.  The project would also train 6-12 women in silk 
weaving and another 6-8 women in high-end silk product 
manufacturing.  The project director will also confer with artisanal 
producers in Cambodia who rebuilt their family incomes after their 
civil war by turning individual handicraft items into high-value 
finished products.  Although the Cambodian producers were originally 
intended to come to Afghanistan, due to security concerns, the 
project director will go to Cambodia and bring back their 
suggestions and designs. The project will also employ 2-3 office 
staffers to handle the project's administrative and logistical 
issues. 
 
Justification 
------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Many women in eastern Afghanistan are returned refugees 
who are marginalized in Afghanistan's conservative culture and have 
no means to contribute to the family income.  Embroidery is part of 
Afghan culture and generally a specialist female skill.  Zardozi 
already has 1,000 home embroiderers but their output is taken to 
Pakistan for manufacturing into a finished product.  This project 
would train women in Afghanistan to do that value-added tailoring 
work.  The silk production project will also be the first time women 
have been trained in Afghanistan on silk production weaving looms, 
traditionally reserved for men.  While many NGOs train women in 
tailoring and embroidery with no specific market access or quality 
target in mind, Zardozi's bottomline-based approach stresses high 
quality and direct market linkages.  Zardozi, more than almost any 
other NGO, has the highest likelihood of increasing women's incomes 
in a very real sense.  The beneficiaries will be drawn from the 
eastern provinces of Afghanistan, which have the highest refugee 
return rate in the country.  As of this year, 74,000 of the year's 
111,000 returns are in the east.  Zardozi will ensure that at least 
50% of the beneficiaries are  returnees. 
 
Budget 
------ 
 
¶4.  (U) Zardozi requests USD $19,980 to be spent as follows: 
 
Tailors' Training = 2-3 months 
 
Senior Tailor to Peshawar   300 
Trainer x 3 months     600 
2-3 months, trainee allowance (x6)  2700 
Machines x8 (incl. overlocker)  2000 
Small equipment     400 
Production facilities    160 
Practice materials x6    600 
 
Silk Manufacturing Training = 2 months 
 
Travel to Cambodia for training  4000 
Samples, product development     500 
Herat supply line sourcing   1000 
Practice Materials     1500 
Trainee allowance (x5)    1000 
Small equipment (x5)    400 
Production facilities    100 
International Trainer    1000 
Zardozi, travel and supervision  1000 
 
Management and Integration 
 
1 Production manager    400 
Zardozi Program Mgr (x30%)   1500 
1 Administrator     450 
1 computer and connectivity   2400 
Prod. Mgr & Admin to Peshawar   600 
Peshawar Senior Tailor (x25%)   120 
Peshawar Production mgr (x25%)  150 
Peshawar accounts (x25%)    200 
Rent room, three months    300 
Generator       1000 
 
Zardozi will also contribute $9580 toward the project. 
 
Implementing Organization 
------------------------ 
 
¶5. (U)  Zardozi has 25 years of experience in economic outreach for 
women home producers and decentralized production.  Formerly 
supported with Danish and European funding, Zardozi is largely 
self-sufficient. 
 
Certification 
------------- 
 
¶6. (U) If PRM approves this proposal and provides post with an 
allotment notice advising funds are available for obligation, post 
certifies that it has the authority and capacity to award the grant 
to the intended recipient to the end of the current fiscal year. 
 
 
WOOD