KARACHI: Celebrating crafts from over 100 villages across Pakistan, the two-day 25th Daachi Arts and Crafts Exhibition opened at the Karachi Expo Centre on Saturday.
The creativity of artisans was on display on over 200 stalls in the shape of the finest pottery from Hala and Multan, painted and carved woodwork, hand blocked and embroidered textiles, brassware and kilims, basketry and folk toys, traditional silver and bead jewellery and organic and preserved fruit products from Hunza.
Other than puppet shows and hands-on pottery making for children, an art gallery and organic food by home-based cooks were also a part of the exhibition.
There were people gathered around one stall tasting powders from different jars. The lady at the stall, who introduced herself as Nabiha Jawad from Karachi, said that they were tasting natural protein powders that she had made herself by crushing various dried fruits. For example, there were jars labelled ‘Pistachio Energy’, ‘Saffron Energy’, ‘Almond Energy’ and ‘Panjiri’.
“These can be healthy substitutes for Ovaltine or Milo. You can also sprinkle them over your morning cereals,” she said while informing about the price for each. A 200-gram jar of pistachio powder was worth Rs2,500, almond was for Rs2,000 and Panjiri only Rs700.
A beautiful ladies koti (waistcoat) with gold threads and embroidered peacocks beckoned many to Muneeba Farooq’s stall. But as soon as the lady from Sheikhupura informed that she was selling it for Rs85,000, all backed off. Right across was another clothing stall named ‘Handmade Closet’. Saiqa Raza there said that she was from Lahore and was very happy to find all her customers from last year returning to her. “I guess our reasonable prices have something to do with that. But our material is of very fine quality as are our hand-embroidered clothes,” she smiled.
Ali Raza from Hala at the Hala pottery stall, meanwhile, was openly saying that handmade pottery is not cheap and still he was not short of customers.
An ethnic jewellery stall managed by Ijaz Karim from Hunza had some very pretty rings, lockets, bracelets and bangles to suit different pockets.
Yusra Qasim, who owns the brand Khwaab by Yusra on Instagram, had the biggest and most reasonably priced handmade jewellery stall at the exhibition. Her pearl bracelets with a crochet, pink, red or maroon rose in the middle were selling like hot cakes because they cost only Rs300 each. “You can spray your favourite perfume on the crochet rose and enjoy its fragrance all day,” Yusra suggested to a customer. Her other bracelets, necklaces and earrings, too, were not very expensive at under Rs500, which could be the reason for the rush at her stall.
At another stall, Shamim Akhtar from Multan had camel skin lamps. “These camel skin lamps are originally made in Multan and exported all over the world. We have the Cholistan Desert where there is no shortage of camels,” she said. The most expensive lamp she had cost Rs7,500 and the least expensive ones cost Rs3,500.
A local, Karachi stall, had the most exquisite unstitched raw silk and chiffon block print suits. Mohammad Khalid Ansari there said that block-printing may be done on any material but their raw silk suits were the most popular at their stall. Each raw silk three-piece suit came with a Rs9,500 price tag.
Shanzay Baloch of Aries Attire, a Sheikhupura brand, had stitched embroidered kurtas and shirts in the range of Rs13,000 to Rs20,000. “We work for women’s empowerment. I have many trained women workers,” she shared.
Akbari Abdul Ghafoor from Faisalabad had handmade beads and silk thread kundan bangles which she designed and made with her two daughters Lubna and Rimsha with sets selling for under Rs1,000.
Aimen Noor from Bahawalpur was selling some very pretty and unique clothing hangers decorated with beads and ribbons. A dozen cost Rs5,000.
Sandeep Chauhan from Kashmore had a stall full of khussas with each pair selling for Rs4,000. “My grandfather and his father and grandfather used to make them with their hands. It’s an art that came down to us through many generations,” he said, adding that he was hopeful to sell all of his 200 pairs by the end of the exhibition.
Rab Dino from Badin had the most colourful tie-and-dye suits, also for Rs4,000 each.
Tehreem Asad and her mother Lubna Asad were selling alphabet blocks, doll bedroom sets and other furniture, which they made themselves. “Our brand is called Needlecraft and through it and our toys we want to promote education for toddlers,” said Tehreem.
Metal serving dishes and bowls, drinking glass sets made from white metal, brass and copper were also on offer at a Lahore store run by Rais Ahmed. Each copper glass was selling for Rs3,000 and a dish set for Rs15,000 and more.
To expand the market for craft, Daachi Foundation organises the Daachi Arts and Crafts Exhibitions annually in big cities such as Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. The exhibitions have helped provide a steady income to artisans and kept their skills alive. In the past the exhibition has extended financial assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters. The stalls offered at each Daachi exhibition are gratis.
Open from 10am to 9pm, the Daachi Arts and Crafts Exhibition concludes on Sunday.
Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2026
