Burberry Foundation teams up with Oxfam to support cashmere production in Afghanistan

The Burberry Foundation has teamed up with charity Oxfam and PUR Projet on a new five-year community programme in Afghanistan, which aims to build a more "inclusive and sustainable" cashmere industry.

This is the first project of its kind in the country and as part of the plans herders of cashmere goats will receive the training and tools required to enhance their livelihoods and to lift themselves out of poverty.

Afghanistan is the world's third largest producer of cashmere, behind Mongolia and China, exporting roughly 1,000 tons of cashmere per year, accounting for 7% of total global production, despite ongoing armed conflict and extreme poverty.

Oxfam and PUR Projet, which works with companies to regenerate the ecosystems upon which they depends, will collaborate with local herders to develop community-owned cooperatives and provide them with the required knowledge, technical skills, essential services and access to markets to support sustainable farming and economic development.

The programme will also support the promotion of gender equality by ensuring women are an integral part of the design and management of cooperatives, and providing women with leadership training. The majority of Afghanistan’s population lives in rural areas and fully depends upon agriculture and livestock – including cashmere goats – for their livelihood.

"There is enormous potential for the Afghan cashmere industry and we believe our programme will deliver resources that will go some way to making it a profitable and sustainable industry for local communities," said Burberry Foundation trustee and Chief People, Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer at Burberry, Leanne Wood.

Sachitra Chitrakar, the Interim Country Director for Oxfam in Afghanistan, said the charity was excited to with with Burberry Foundation "to expand our work on sustainable livelihoods in Afghanistan. With extreme poverty on the rise, it is important to continue our commitment supporting local communities in the fight against poverty.”

"It is through such partnerships that innovative solutions can be found to drive true change and support local communities in their endeavours to bring themselves out of poverty and manage their natural resources sustainably," said Pierric Jammes, co-founder and managing director of PUR Projet, "We strongly believe that this will be a demonstration of the true potential of businesses to engage in positive change and support our global community.”

The Burberry Foundation was set up in 2008 by Burberry Group plc as an independent charity for general charitable purposes and grant-making. This latest project is part of the Burberry Group’s responsibility agenda to support 1m people in the communities that sustain the wider luxury industry over the next five years.