Members free, Guests $35
Houses made from wool that warm in the depths of winter, carpets that tell stories, woven bands that appease ancestors, embroideries that ward off evil, and kilims that store kitchenware, with everything ready to be packed and carried on a yak or camel at a moment’s notice. The little-known nomadic textile cultures of the Kyrgyz, Turkoman and Karakalpak are explored in this lecture, along with the rise and fall of nomadism and where it fits within the modern world. Chris also shares his own experience of working with nomadic yak herders in the High Pamirs for 3 years.
Chris has lived in Khiva, Uzbekistan, establishing a UNESCO workshop reviving fifteenth century carpet designs and embroideries. He has lived and worked with yak herders in the Parmirs mountains of Tajikistan harvesting the yaks’ cashmere-like down. He is now based in Cambridge and has recorded his experiences in his book “A Carpet Ride to Khiva”.
