Afghan Juma Bazaar

Harpenden Saturday 5 March 2011

The Juma Bazaar in Harpenden was an initiative of Sue Bentley, whose support for Afghan Action’s work has been unstinting. She and some fellow volunteers worked extremely hard to make a success of the day.

Important lessons have been learned from holding the event – not least in the amount of support which ought to have been provided and the failure to deliver Afghan kites and mini-looms. The report of positive and critical – and we have learned much from the experience and will aim to do better next time!

Sue writes:

The main idea behind the Juma Bazaar was to hold an event which offered the public the chance to find out about Afghan life and culture – with a focus on food, clothes, books, carpets, kites, and school links. It was also an opportunity to introduce Afghan Action and its work.

The day centred on a lunchtime cafe serving Middle Eastern food and a pop-up restaurant in the evening. During the day there were Afghan Tales in a special tent, carpet-weaving and kite-making workshops, an Afghan bookstall and a stall selling Afghan raisins, sweets and nuts.  The evening was a three-course Afghan meal with waitress service and the option of a pre-dinner talk about daily life in Afghanistan. The entire hall (and Afghan Tales area) was tented in orange and deep red material.

What worked really well:

• the event itself has been highly commended by the local community and particularly well-received in the church community as a great example of outreach – the idea of a follow-up evening of wine-tasting and Afghan carpets has been enthusiastically received ;
• engagement was made with Harpenden schools already linked to schools in Afghanistan and opportunity given to publicise their work;
• the involvement and the presence on the day of Afghan people – Zarlashta and her mother, Hashim and Maliha – gave a real depth and credibility to the event;
• the displays of Afghan clothes (supplied by Zarlashta and Maliha) were very popular and the Afghan Tales were very successful;
• the sweets, nuts, raisins and books were a good attraction;
• the pop-up restaurant was a very popular concept and sold out quickly;
• the pre-dinner talk was equally popular;
• some Afghan Action rugs were sold, although there was not a huge selection on offer;
• visitors were given the space and time to think about Afghanistan in a different way and the overall atmosphere during the event was delightful.

What worked less well:

• there were difficulties with the restaurant supplying the evening meal;
• the kite-making workshop did not have any Afghan kites and did not have anyone who knew about Afghan kites – at the last minute we produced simple (Hawaian) kite kits for children to make which were very successful,  but there was a real opportunity lost to tell the story of the Afghan kite;
• although we had purchased simple hand looms, the carpet-weaving workshop did not have anyone who knew about Afghan carpet-weaving – again, another real opportunity lost;
• there was only just enough variety to call it a bazaar - it would have been good to display other Afghan goods (such as jewellery) if we had known of suppliers.
• Publicity for the event – it was not picked up by the local press and was not well enough publicised by Afghan Action. It was advertised widely in the town and local schools.

Specific comments on individual elements:

1. Food

• The Middle Eastern cafe was a success – easy to serve hot and cold food supplied by a Turkish cafe.  The significant challenge was anticipating the number of customers. This provided a good facility for families to visit the bazaar and learn about Afghanistan.

• Evening pop-up restaurant - there were communication difficulties with the restaurant and on the evening it was felt that insufficient food was delivered in the wrong containers and the meal had to be supplemented with additional food at the last minute. (Background Afghan music during the entire day was very popular and live Afghan music would have been even better.)

• Afghan Sweets, Fruits and Nuts – made a good stall and tasting opportunity. The raisins came from Tropical Wholefoods, an ethical company which launched the first Fairtrade raisins from Afghanistan in October 2010, and are interested in collaboration with Afghan Action in the future. More Afghan foods would have been good to offer.

2. Books and Afghan Tales

• Octagon Press supplied an interesting selection of Afghan books on a sale or return basis. The books were suitable for children and adults and made a good display. Although not that many were sold, they generated a lot of interest. The Idries Shah stories were great for the Afghan Tales.

3. Kite-making and carpet-weaving workshops

• These were, disappointingly, probably the weakest part of the Juma Bazaar.

• The lack of any Afghan kites or kite kits and no-one there who knew or could say anything about them was a lost opportunity.

• Equally, the absence of anyone with knowledge of Afghan carpet-weaving was also a significant missing link, particularly given the display of beautiful carpets from Afghan Action.

• These workshops are great attractions but need some focussed thought and resources by Afghan Action to be successful.

Conclusion

I would suggest that any or all of the above activities trialled at the Juma Bazaar would be welcome additions to encourage attendance at workshops run by advocates in the Building Bridges project framework.

A. Food – could be offered through arrangement with local cafe on a pre-agreed formula;

B. Workshops – a supply of Afghan kites with instructions, some simple materials illustrating typical Afghan carpet knots and some worked-up looms could form the basis of a workshop.

C. Stalls

• food including Fairtrade raisins, Afghan nuts and sweets could be listed by suppliers;
• jewellery could be sourced?
• Books – deal worked up with Octagon Press;

D. Publicity and materials

• Laminated sheets of information about Afghan life and other display materials including more detail about Afghan Action – quote bank etc.
• Standard form press release and advertising materials (eg posters) for adaptation by organisers of events
• Consideration of follow-up events
• Video clips of Afghanistan, the school links, the carpet training school (and possibly of films such as the Kite Runner) could be available for general use
• Selection of Afghan artefacts including clothes could also be available