Nakta Designs works with women artisan communities in Kyrgyzstan to create beautiful, durable home goods, crafted from Kyrgyz wool.

Many of Nakta’s artisans have been creating shyrdaks throughout their entire lives; Nakta Designs exists in order to provide them with expanded economic opportunities for their highly skilled work. Nakta’s female artisans, who traditionally live in remote mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan, make shyrdaks by hand. When you buy a shyrdak from Nakta Designs, you make a direct contribution to the sustainable development of small businesses led by talented women artisans in low-income, rural communities. Every purchase is also a part of a collective effort to preserve the Kyrgyz cultural heritage.

In 2012, the creative process of shyrdaks, or the “art of Kyrgyz traditional felt carpets” was included in UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safekeeping. Nakta Design’s mission is to promote this valuable process, its beautiful products and the talented women who keep it alive.