Economy

Small businesses and family based initiatives from locals.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Community of Hazaras Living Among Pashtuns

A small community of Hazaras lives peacefully in Garmser, a Pashtun-dominated district of southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Residents of the village talk of the strong relationship between the two ethnic groups.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Afghan Glassblower Keeps Art From Dying

Ghulam Sakhi has been a glassblower in western Afghanistan’s Herat province for 40 years, but this craft has been a part of his family for generations. Sakhi now harbors the fear that the artform will perish with him; his final wish, after his passing, is for the art to survive.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Decades of Illiteracy; The Generations That Have Been Forgotten

Generations have gone without the opportunity to seek education in Abi, an area in Chora district of Afghanistan’s Orguzgan province. In addition to that, no health centers exist in the area, exasperating the issues people in this area face on a daily basis.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Child Farmer Dreams of School

Written by Sabawoon Ahmadi ZARTALAY, GHOR— Muhammad Asif is a 12 year-old child farmer from Zartalay, a village located 45 kilometers south of Firozkoh, the capital of Afghanistan’s western Ghor province. Since he was six, Muhammad has been spent each year working alongside his father, Hamed. The boy spends

OneDayinAfghanistan

A Blind Mother's Single Wish

Written by Zarghuna Akbari SHEBERGHAN, JAWZJAN — “Life without eyesight is very challenging; not being able to see your children even once, not being able to recognize their faces, and always depending on others. Without eyesight, the world is a dark place for a human being," 40 year-old Zahra, a blind

Children

Children Raising Children

14 year-old Somaya was married off to a 45 year-old man at the age of 12 and gave birth to her son at the age of 14. A girl who herself is a mere child, barely a teenager, now has to take care of another child.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Housework; the Only Option for Women

Golsum Bibi is an illiterate Afghan woman in her mid-twenties. The sweet dish she makes is famous among villagers but Afghanistan’s recent economic crisis has put a damper on her business.

Economy

Recycling Trash into Art

Standing along the highway just outside Newlands Shopping Centre, Joseph Chiyambukira displays his wares for passersby to peruse and purchase at their leisure. For as long as he can remember Mr. Chiyambukira’s father Chiyambukira Takawira has been making handicrafts for sale at this market.

Economy

The Traveling Pitcher Salesman

Abdullah Noorzai is an elderly pitcher salesman who takes care of his large family by walking several kilometers every day, striving to turn a profit and feed the mouths waiting at home.

Poverty

Selling One Child to Feed the Rest

An impoverished #Afghan couple took a drastic measure in an effort to feed their family of 8 by deciding to sell a couple of their children. Meanwhile, another couple married for 14 years with no offspring was looking to adopt a child.

OneDayinAfghanistan

The 102 Year Old Afghan Leathersmith

One of the oldest man in western Afghanistan’s Herat province keeps one of the most ancient professions alive.

Unemployment

No Jobs, No Food, No Hope

Afghans across the country lament the lack of employment while voicing concern over the increasing poverty.

Fashion

Salon Eliminates Hair and Ignorance

Customers waiting their turn at a salon in western Afghanistan’s Badghis province could take the time to read a book from the small library, an initiative by the owner who regrets not finishing school.

Weather

Between Life and Death in Winter's Cold

Afghans across the country endured an unprecedented cold snap in January that left dozens of people and thousands of livestock dead.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Weaving a Life From Reeds and Straw

Small, agricultural-based businesses are suffering the impact of Afghanistan’s economic crisis and the persistent drought devastating communities across the poverty-stricken country.

Culture

Woman Opens First Bookstore in Badakhshan

A woman in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan has opened the province’s first bookstore aiming to promote the culture of reading among the public.

OneDayinAfghanistan

The Apple Farmer Serving Travelers

Mahram Ali’s farmstand is the last stop before reaching a popular park along a highway connecting two of Afghanistan’s western provinces, Herat and Badghis, make it popular for tourists and locals alike.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Grapes Feed Families

Basir Ahmad Darwishi has worked as a raisin processor in western Afghanistan’s Herat province for the past 20 years. His business employs over a dozen locals annually, a vital resource considering the country’s economic situation.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Ten Years’ Hard Labor, Feels Like One Hundred

Zumarai Ahmadi has spent years working as a construction material salesman in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, selling everything he finds there; sand, gravel and rock.

Economy

Salt, a Taste of a Larger Problem

Laborers working at a salt factory in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul is barely making enough to feed their families as the country’s economic and unemployment crises continue.

Economy

Figs Are Not Enough

Farmers in Zinda Jan, the district that accounts for the majority of figs produced in Afghanistan’s Herat province, lament the lack of demand and inaccessibility to international markets.

Girls

Apprenticeship Gives Afghans Hope

40-year-old Wahida Wahaj reopened a workshop that teaches girls and women embroidery, tailoring and carpet weaving in northeastern Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province.

OneDayinAfghanistan

A Day with a Broom Maker

Mah Sultan is a woman making the brooms in southwestern Afghanistan’s Nimroz province in order to help take care of her family. She barely makes enough from the business, but has no choice in the matter.

Disability

Disability, Afghanistan’s Hidden Scourge

The lack of government resources for disabled Afghans has left this marginalized group to fend for themselves, while the discrimination, humiliation and disrespect they face on a daily basis just adds salt to their wounds.

OneDayinAfghanistan

Profitable Profession to Barely Making By

Jewelry smith Humayoun Khashi has been in the business for the past 25 years. He owns a store in northeastern Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, taking care of his family through the business.