Made in Afghanistan

Nasrat Khalid turned his artisan website into a grassroots disaster-relief organization

- Diane Peters

ON A JULY day in 2021, Nasrat Khalid was on the phone to his native Afghanistan when he got some awful news: "This whole city has turned into a refugee camp," Kabulbased Mohammed Nasir told him.

Nasir is the chief of operations for Khalid's company, Aseel, which positions itself as the Etsy of Afghanistan. It allows artisans making things like blankets and jewellery to sell their products around the world via its app and website. Artisans may also receive training in handicrafts and business practices.

Khalid, who is based in Washington, D.C., worried constantly about Kabul that summer as US forces withdrew from Afghanistan and city after city fell to the Taliban. His Afghan-based team struggled to ship products to buyers, while local artisans saw their incomes dry up. Plus, many of them were fleeing the increasingly dangerous provinces.