Chaman Handicrafts

Our workshop is down on Abdul Salam Road in the Qutubsher area. It’s a place where there is always some kind of work going on, whether it’s carving or just packing up finished pieces. The street outside is usually busy with people and carts going by. We have been doing this for quite a while now. The space inside is filled with the smell of wood and the sound of tools. It’s not a quiet place, that’s for sure. We don’t have a big sign or a fancy entrance, you just walk in and see the work being done right there. Most of the things we make take a lot of time, so there’s always something in a half-finished state sitting on a bench. We try to keep the dust down, but with handicrafts, it’s almost impossible. We just get on with it. Sometimes the power goes out and we have to wait a bit, but we just use that time to organize the smaller items. It’s a family-run kind of feel here. We know the neighbors and the other shopkeepers around Abdul Salam Road. People come by to see what we’ve finished lately. It’s simple work but it keeps us busy from morning until evening. The floor is always covered in wood shavings, no matter how much we sweep up at the end of the day. It’s a bit of a losing battle, really. We’ve got some old fans that rattle a bit but they help when it gets really stuffy in the afternoon. Most of the people working here have lived in Qutubsher all their lives.