Shelves filled with handmade dolls wearing national Uzbek dresses, shirts and trousers, small contemporary dolls, and colourful toy animals. Sadokat, a 38-year-old doll maker, teacher and manager of the Hunarmand Markazi crafts centre in Uzbekistan, is presenting her collection of handcrafted dolls and toys.
“I used to be a teacher in schools, teaching all kinds of handicrafts to children. I did that for many years. And then I started making dolls with national costumes,” Sadokat tells.
“I have been working on this activity for six years,” she continues.
The manufacturing process of dolls involves several different makers: the heads come from a wood craftsman, a skilled artisan paints the faces, and another artisan makes the bodies. Sadokat and her team sew the dresses and trousers by using a traditional cotton ikat, woven in the Margilan area in Uzbekistan.
A training motivated Sadokat to expand her business
In 2019 Sadokat participated in a workshop provided by UNESCO as part of the Silk Road Heritage Corridors programme funded by the European Union. In the one-week workshop she learned a lot about selling her products online and received other tips to improve her business.
“I met a lot of different craft makers from across Uzbekistan, and we still share ideas and keep in touch,” Sadokat says. She plans to invite an artist focusing on miniature painting to the centre so that she and the students can learn from her.
During the COVID-19 pandemic Sadokat looked for new handicraft ideas and found a tutorial video for making crochet dolls. She started making contemporary dolls and soft toys from crochet using local cotton or acrylic yarn and stuffed them with wadding. Since then she has developed and adapted the patterns to make a wide range of different dolls and toys using the same technique.
“We are always developing new designs and colours which our customers like. Everyone who makes them brings their own ideas, which I really like,” she explains.
The dolls and toys are sold directly to kindergartens or to customers through supermarket chains. Sadokat sells the products also at crafts festivals and fairs, as well as online.
We are always developing new designs and colours which our customers like. Everyone who makes them brings their own ideas, which I really like.
Teaching young women
Over 100 young women come to the Hunarmand Markazi crafts centre to learn to make dolls and other crafts, such as patchwork, embroidery and design-sewing. They participate in a government-sponsored apprenticeship programme. Sadokat also goes and teaches women in their homes in the Uzbekistan enclaves on the Kyrgyz territory. She shows them the crafting techniques and provides the materials. The products can then be sold via the Hunarmand Markazi centre.
Future plans
Sadokat has several plans to develop her crafts centre. As some women have to bring their small children with them when they come to work, her priority is to build a small kindergarten in the centre. In addition, she would like to develop the crafts lessons she gives children outside school hours. The children who come to the centre are very interested in crafts and they enjoy working together.
Another plan is to construct a guest house in the Hunarmand Markazi centre. That way visitors could easily stay at the centre and earn income from their work. She would also like to acquire some looms to lead carpet-making and ikat-weaving workshops.
About the project
Sadokat took part in training workshop at the Margilan Crafts Development Centre in 2019 to enhance her skills and learn about entrepreneurship. The workshop was part of the Silk Road Heritage Corridors programme activities, implemented by UNESCO and funded by the European Union.