CHITRAL: The vocational training centre for Kalash women established by Al-Khidmat Foundation was inaugurated in Bumburate valley here on Wednesday.

The ceremony was attended by Kalash elites from the valley in large numbers.

AKF secretary general Waqas Anjum Jaffery and provincial president Khalid Waqas Chamkani jointly inaugurated the centre and said the project would not only provide the Kalash women with the opportunity of learning technical education but also preserve the Kalash culture in its entirety.

They said that the project was aimed at alleviating poverty in the Kalash valleys.

The residents have limited sources of income, with their landholding being small for their sustenance.

The AKF leader said there was a rich potential of promoting cultural items of the primitive people known internationally.

The senior AKF office-bearers said that extensive training of Kalash dresses, ornaments, utensils and kitchenware, furniture, musical instruments and decoration pieces would be imparted to the trainees in the centre which would ultimately lead to their self-employment.

They said that their organisation would also provide materials to be used during the training process, while effort wouldbe made to help trainees establish their business on a small scale after their successful completion.

The Kalash elites thanked the organisationleaders for the project aimed at the welfare of the minority community.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024