In an industry plagued by child labour in developing countries, Ten Thousands Villages is offering Langley consumers the opportunity to purchase rugs created in humane conditions.
The fair trade store, located on the one-way portion of Fraser Highway, is one of several retailers across North America participating in a travelling tour of hand-made, fair trade Oriental rugs.
On display until May 7, this is the second year Ten Thousand Villages has participated in the show.
For just two weeks a year, the 150 carpets come to the store in a special display to both amaze and educate customers.
Created by adults in Pakistan that are paid fair wages, the extremely detailed rugs can take upwards of 16 months to make.
All are created using 100 per cent domestically-raised sheep wool that is dyed by a dye master using both natural and commercially made colours.
They are then hand-knotted into detailed designs sketched out by a master designer and translated into a special code.
A team of five people working five hours a day can take anywhere from 12 to 16 months to make just one 9X12 Persian rug.
A 4X6 Bokara rug takes two people working five hours a day roughly two months to complete.
The results of their labour are incomparable to rugs mass produced by most carpet facilities, says Trish Buhler, manager of the Langley Ten Thousands Villages store.
“The people who make the rugs get paid a fair wage and they’re amazing in quality.
“All of the work that goes into them is just spectacular,” she said.
In many other parts of the world, Oriental rugs are created by young children forced to work long hours for very low pay. They are very desirable sources of labour for some carpet manufactures as their small hands allow them to quickly tie several knots per square inch.
“The child labour in the rug industry is just appalling,” Buhler said.
“So having something that is made only by adults and people that are getting paid a fair wage is very important.”
In the travelling show, there are three types of Oriental rugs on display: Persian, which are know for their detailed florals and diverse colour palettes; Bokhara, which are known best for their geometric patterns and detailed borders; and Tribal, which are created using only hand-spun wool and all-natural dyes.
All have been made by artisans of Bunyaad, a program founded in the early 1960s that works with more than 850 families from nearly 100 villages near Lahore — Pakistan’s second largest city.
Oriental rug making dates back nearly 2,000 years in the region, which is known as one of the world’s top places for carpet making.
The proper wages paid through Bunyaad allow the artisan families to work from home, send their kids to school and financially plan for events such as medical emergencies or weddings.
“That’s another great thing about these rugs. They are made right where the artisans live in the countryside, so it gives the artisans a chance to be in their home village where their families are, and not have to go to the city to find a job,” Buhler said.
The hand-made rugs are also available throughout the year online at rugs.tenthousandvillages.com.
The Langley store is open Monday to Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information on their products, visit www.tenthousandsvillages.ca/store/1105.