Dezful unique handicrafts need support

The unique and beautiful handicrafts of Dezful, which are often produced with the handicrafts, love and passion of the women of this city, need the support of the authorities and those involved.

The history of Dezful is imbued with the ancient culture of the artist, who produces beautiful and unique products with his taste and initiative; Products that are unique in their kind and attract fans from all over the world.

Kapobafi, kilim weaving, carpentry, engraving, leather embroidery and pottery are just some of the handicrafts of the people of old Dezful, some of which are still standing and some need to be revived.
To get a report on the capacities and challenges of Dezful handicrafts, we went to one of the production workshops of this city, and different parts of it attracted our attention.
A shop of raw materials has been set up in the workshop, from where artists and craftsmen procure the raw materials they need; The other part is related to training and the other part is related to handicraft delivery.
Decorating, packing, designing and selling are other parts of this workshop.
In an interview with IRNA, the director of this handicraft collection, referring to the fact that the collection was started by his father in 1968, said: During these years, about 350 people weave mats, 10 kilims weavers, 10 ihram weavers, and 20 decorators. And 10 people have been employed in the packaging sector, which in this regard is one of the largest handicraft collections in the country.
Mostafa Ismaili Dezfuli continued: “This collection was recognized as the top producer in the country in terms of production volume in 1995 by the Cultural Heritage Organization and by the then vice president, and during this period it has employed many people.”

Challenges of Dezful handicrafts

The handicraft manufacturer stated that the collection has participated in 10 international exhibitions, including the handicrafts exhibitions of the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Oman and Serbia, and pointed out the challenges of artisans in the production of handicrafts: Definitely lack of government support The most important challenge for craftsmen in this field is; The more support there is, the more the industry develops.
He called participation in international exhibitions very important and said: Participation in international exhibitions can show our industry to the world and create new markets.
According to Ismaili Dezfuli, by participating in international exhibitions, we get acquainted with the tastes of other countries and we can sell our products in the international market in addition to the domestic market.
He continued: “Iran is the third largest producer of handicrafts in the world after China and India, but despite the large volume and variety of products, due to not participating in foreign exhibitions, a small share of international markets is allocated to our country’s craftsmen.” .
This handicraft producer called for international support of cultural heritage for the presence of handicraft producers to witness the evaluation and cultural and economic development of our country and city.
He called the handicraft labor market unstable and added: “The market is better than in the first year of the corona, but not better than before the corona and the embargo; In addition to the domestic market, our products are currently exported to the countries bordering the Persian Gulf and in some cases to European countries.

Ismaili Dezfuli, who started his activity in 1987, criticized the overdevelopment of capo weaving and said: “The increase in capo producers has led to a decrease in raw materials.”
He added: “The mat is taken from old palm trees and woven with it, but now, due to the high demand for new trees, the mat is also taken, which damages the tree.”
This Dezfuli manufacturer, emphasizing the need to pay attention to business from different angles, said: it should also benefit from the opinion of the expert and producer of the desired industry.

Asked about the profit of the producers of Dezful capo, he said: “The profit of the craftsman from the production of capo is about 40% and the craftsmen are satisfied with the working conditions;” The labor market of handicrafts, especially capo, is better in summer, and because it is a handicraft, its enthusiasts are increasing day by day.
He said that the only thing the authorities do for handicrafts is to give licenses, while the support of the authorities motivates the producers and craftsmen.
The handicraft manufacturer, who also has a history of attending various international exhibitions, said: “Other countries provide a lot of support to artisans by holding international exhibitions, but this is not the case in Iran.”

According to Ismaili Dezfuli, participating in international exhibitions is not economically viable for handicraft producers, and the people who participate in these exhibitions fail due to the cost of hotel, bar, booth and design, and return to Goshour; In fact, there is no economic justification for the craftsmen to be present in the international arena due to the lack of support from the relevant authorities.
Marketing of handicraft products is also of special importance that the director of this handicraft collection said in this regard: the introduction and sale of products in cyberspace is on the agenda and good measures have been taken in this regard.

Dezful handicrafts capacities

After visiting this beautiful collection, some questions came to my mind that I preferred to have an interview with an expert in this field; I went to Abdolreza Hassanpour, a handicrafts expert.

The expert first gave a definition of handicrafts and said: “Handicrafts are artifacts that are produced with local raw materials, without the use of machines and using the initiative, creativity and taste of the artist.”
According to him, since 1371, when the Dezful Handicrafts Department started working, the identification of all handicrafts has also begun.
Hassanpour stated: Dezful is the center of handicrafts in Khuzestan province in terms of the number of fields, so that no expert from Dezful entered the city and what businessmen needed was provided from Dezful.
According to this handicraft expert, Dezful handicrafts are famous for the quality and quantity of their products, which have met the needs of customers in different parts of the world.
According to Hassanpour, producers used to respond to applicants because the quality of their products was high; Even now, this quality has been preserved and artifacts such as capo, kharati, ihrami, rugs, Dezful gold and silver jewelry have many customers.
This handicraft expert, stating that Dezful capoe is sold in the northern tourist cities due to its high quality, added: Dezful native wood called Jagh is used for carpentry, which is not available in other cities; Capo is not produced in any other city and Dezful is the only producer.
Production of Dezful capo from Pamanar village has been started and introduced for about 30 years.
The handicrafts expert, stating that previously the handicrafts department was independent of the Cultural Heritage Organization, said: When the handicrafts department was independent of the Cultural Heritage Organization, specialized and skilled forces were used for management, but now in Khuzestan and Dezful provinces We do not have a cultural heritage, which makes the situation different.
Hassanpour pointed out that there are about 60 to 70 professions in Dezful and said: Ihram weaving can bring about 12 low professions to work; Manufacturers themselves should plan in this area and not wait for upstream devices.
He said that the efforts of the craftsmen have created the current situation, adding: “The old bazaar of Dezful currently has about 12 handicraft workshops, which some officials not only did not support, but also sued some carpenters under the pretext of storing wood.”

Ways to strengthen Dezful handicrafts

This handicrafts expert considered the recruitment of human resources as a factor in the development of handicrafts and said: “We have 3,000 kapobafs in Dezful that we must preserve and study their problems and issues, and then think about developing this number.”

He added: “We should not seek to increase the forces in any way, but the existing human resources should be encouraged and the youth should be acquainted with Dezful handicrafts, for which the handicrafts should flourish and the youth should be shown and prominent, active and honorable artists should be introduced.”
Emphasizing the need to establish a link between successful craftsmen and young job seekers through the Labor Office, Hassanpour said: “We must create incentives for the development of these professions to introduce Dezful products at the global and national levels and guarantee the work of craftsmen.”
Providing the field of work and employment, training of handicrafts by caring, skilled and intelligent instructors, setting up a handicraft workshop for the applicants were among the other things mentioned by this handicraft expert so that the craftsmen would not have any worries through it.
Criticizing the strict rules for providing facilities to artisans, he said: “This strictness discourages artists and artisans that the laws should be amended and production or consumption cooperatives should be approved to encourage artisans.”
Despite the antiquity and quality of the products and the follow-ups done, the handicraft market in Dezful has not been activated yet; Hassanpour said in this regard: the handicrafts market has been lost in the old market and jobs have been created in this market that have nothing to do with old Dezful.

He continued: “Sometimes a handicraft exhibition is set up in the family park, which is not appropriate at all; It is necessary to create a permanent market, but for the construction of the handicraft town, follow-ups have been done, which we hope will be completed soon.
This handicraft expert considered it necessary to build a handicraft park or name a street with this name in Dezful and stated: After many consultations, it was decided to name a square named Capo in Dezful, but it was not done expertly to design it and the square was not designed properly. Protested by citizens; Eventually, the statue was removed.
He added: “We have become one of the 22 national cities of the country in handicrafts due to the production cap of rural women and girls, and we should be grateful to them.”

After this interview, I went to Abbas Cheragh Cheshm, the head of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department of Dezful, to ask about the measures taken in the field of handicrafts.
Cheragh Cheshmeh reminded the reason for naming the 20th of Khordad as Handicrafts and said: The New York World Conference was held with the participation of 40 countries and led to the formation of the UNESCO World Handicrafts Council, which aims to preserve, encourage and guide artisans, preserve and Strengthening handicrafts was a pillar of cultural activities and solidarity among artisans.
He said that next month we will see the introduction of Dezful as the world city of Capo, adding: Capubafi is specific to Dezful, which can bring many economic and cultural openings.

The need to revive 70 Dezful handicrafts

The head of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department of Dezful stated: In addition to 3,000 kapubaf are active in Dezful, who are mainly working on the outskirts of the city and generate income through this.
He also referred to the activity of 50 kapobafi workshops in Dezful city and added: Dezful has 73 national works in the field of handicrafts, three of which have world awards.
According to Cheragh Cheshmeh, 5,000 square meters of land has been considered for the establishment of a handicraft town in Dezful Industrial Town No. 4.
He continued: “We have 70 forgotten and active industries in Dezful, including carpentry, kapobafi, leather embroidery, engraving, reed pen, coppersmith, pottery, jewelry and precious stones, but due to the entry of some factories, weakened or Have been forgotten.

The head of Dezful Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department expressed hope for the revival of these 70 industries: Last year, Khuzestan province won 53 national works, 30 of which belonged to Dezful, ie about 60% of the Khuzestan handicrafts mark belongs to Dezful. .
He continued: The training, production and sale complex of handicraft products will be launched in the cultural heritage of Dezful in the next 10 days; Also, with the agreement of education, from next September, the entrepreneurship course will be dedicated to teaching kapobafi, which is expected to train 3,000 students in this field.
According to IRNA, the main handicrafts of Dezful are the production of satellite cities and rural areas of this city, which have created a lot of integration and unity with their products.
This special capacity should be used to display the cultural history of Dezful and the golden history of this city should be transferred and revived from generation to generation with unique handicrafts.
It is expected that the authorities of the cultural heritage and the cultural field of the country will have more support from the craftsmen in the field of handicrafts and will not allow this valuable heritage to be forgotten.