Aayenda Jewelry will help to create the future jewelry industry for Afghanistan, working together with leading international jewelry designers to design and create unique pieces. Afghanistan is a country rich in natural gemstones. Through a training program established by the charity, Future Brilliance | Afghanistan, a group of 36 Afghan jewelry students were trained in gemology and gemstone cutti
ng, jewelry design and goldsmith skills at a leading Institute in Jaipur, India, to capture the high value potential of this industry. Future Brilliance is supporting artisans who have formed the Aayenda Jewelry co-operative, through which they develop and manufacture for Aayenda Jewelry. The Aayenda brand is supported by international jewelry designers such as Paul Spurgeon, Annie Fensterstock and Anna-Ruth Henriques. The designers collaborated with Afghan artisans to design a jewelry line for the international market, using lapis beads that are so fine they can only be made in two villages in the world. This bead making business is managed by an incredible illiterate Afghan woman, who is the inspiration behind our program. We hope to increase the number of vulnerable women she employs to over 3000 through the sales of this jewelry brand. Via the not for profit, Future Brilliance US, and its trading subsidiary Aayenda Jewelry LLC, the Afghan artisans, have access to a worldwide network for sales and distribution of their products. Aayenda Jewelry LLC donates a 10% royalty and will donate 100% of its profits to support the ongoing skills development of the artisans. Royalty payments have so far funded the completion of a bead making workshop in Balkh Province, in which a further 80 women have been able to receive training. Future Brilliance also provides business and quality control training for Afghan artisans to compliment and support their design and production skills. By training Afghans in the ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ aspects of the business, Future Brilliance | Afghanistan will enable the Aayenda Jewelry Co-Operative to create a viable and sustainable hive of economic activity and stability in the nation. We work to ensure that members of the Aayenda Jewelry Cooperative gain international exposure. Afghan women artisans, in particular, are well placed to benefit from increased employment opportunity in the sector, generating increased economic activity and tax contributions. As their businesses develop, students from the Future Brilliance Jaipur training program pass on their skills and knowledge to other Afghan artisans, and facilitate the creation of ongoing opportunities. Aayenda Jewelry aims to create significant opportunities for Afghans, leading to the creation of thousands of jobs for artisans in rural areas in Afghanistan with a special focus on women.
