On November 26, at the Hilton hotel in Dushanbe, a conference was held to launch the new project "Reviving Uzbekistan's and Tajikistan's Sustainable Ikat and Silk RUTSIS" supported financially by the European Union.

The overall objective of the EU funded SWITCH-Asia program is to promote sustainable and inclusive growth, contribute to the economic prosperity and poverty reduction in Asia and Central Asia and to a transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and circular economy.

The project is designed for three years and covers a wide range of issues affecting the creation of sustainable production and opportunities for improvement in the ikat and silk value chains.

The project activities will focus on: conducting a needs assessment and informing enterprises about possibilities in value chain, taking into account the requirements of sustainable production; revitalizing and modernizing local silk and ikat value chains; conducting educational trainings and seminars for silk and ikat manufacturers, as well as educational institutions in this field; providing advice to specialized educational institutions that train personnel for the silk industry; revival of the use of environmentally friendly dyes; organization of regional events, cooperation exchanges in the B2B format, fairs and other events with the participation of silk producers; and introducing eco-labeling and ultimately creating opportunities for international recognition of environmentally friendly silk and ikat products from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

This project is launched under the European Union SWITCH Asia program with the participation of representatives of a consortium, which includes organizations and consulting companies from Germany, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, including: adelphi consult GmbH (Germany), Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan, NGO " Tourism Development Center" (Tajikistan), Margilan Crafts Development Centre (Uzbekistan) and Burg Giebigstein University of Arts and Design, (Germany).