Jangalak Vocational Training Centre – part of the Aga Khan Cultural Services in Afghanistan – was established in 2015 to improve people's livelihoods through the provision of vocational training opportunities, especially amongst youth. Training of young men and women between the ages of 15 and 25 has focused on those vocations connected to Afghanistan’s rich material and crafts history, such as woodcarving, carpet weaving, tailoring, carpentry, embroidery, wooden model-making, traditional Jali screen-making, tile making and Rubab making.
The trainings are organised as such to provide balanced opportunities for both young men and women. While graduates can seek employment in the local market, they can also start their own micro-businesses either from home or in small shops within their neighbourhoods. For female graduates, tailoring, embroidery, and carpet weaving are examples of professions that enable them to work from home and contribute financially to their households, if otherwise not allowed.
