Amadi Carpets, founded by the Ahmadi brothers, are not only exquisite art pieces, they also empower women in Afghanistan through education and employment. Visit Chateau Sonoma to see the beautiful carpets, and read below to learn about the Amadi Carpet Story.

At Chateau Sonoma we love to share artists’ stories – especially when those stories involve helping others. When I stumbled onto Amadi Carpets on a buying trip, I knew I would find a way to carry their products in the shop to share with our customers. Not only are Amadi Carpets some of the most beautiful rugs I have ever seen, but the company is at the forefront of women empowerment & education in Afghanistan, a cause I support wholeheartedly.

These carpets have a story that is deeper than the stitching. It begins with a dream from the Ahmadi brothers, refugees of The Soviet War, who fled their homeland for safety, hope and peace. Their dream was to give the women of Afghanistan an opportunity to learn, to strive, and to rise up. 

“The women, aged 18 to 70, have been taught weaving skills as well as provided education classes. A bus safely transports them from around the Kabul area to the weaving center. Beyond earning an income and education, the women are helping to impact an entire generation. Because the women now provide for their household, their children who would have normally worked (as is the reality for many Third World countries) are given the opportunity to go to school. 

The Ahmadi brothers were kind enough to bring a shipment of beautiful rugs to live in Chateau Sonoma for a while. They range in sizes, colors, and textures and each time one of them catches my eye, I smile knowing the passion and love that went into the making of it. These are not just carpets, but the works of empowered women and art.  

“You help empower one woman and you have empowered a whole family. You empower more than one woman and you have empowered a whole community,” Zubair Ahmadi