Handicraft Development

So, my grand plan is to revitalize the Merino wool industry in Kyrgyzstan. Both the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development have tried, but I believe I can succeded where these INGO Giants have failed. My brash self confidence comes from:

  1. Brutal Naivety, and
  2. A slow, localized, labor intensive, step-by-step approach.

I’ll focus on section 2. See, there is no demand for wool because there is no quality wool sheep stock. There is no quality stock because there is no demand for wool. Chiken and the egg. The solution? A little tiny halfling that will evolve into a chicken.

That halfling is felt. There is already domestic demand for felt made from Merino wool in the form of handicrafts and souvenirs. I beleive we need a series of market oriented approchaes, for both domestic and export consumption. Once we have a growing demand for Merino wool to be made into felt, the invisible hand will naturally improve the sheep stock. Let this cycle reinforce for a while, and, with the right guidance, the Kyrgyz Republic can enter the international wool markets again.

Right now, we are moving in a few directions:

  • New designs for handicrafts, like the felt laptop sleeves.
  • Development of the exisiting handicraft skill.
  • Improved business skills, in logistics, pricing and marketing.
  • Improved technology to increase felt quality and decrease production time.