The Dougs are off to the Bunyaad office
After enjoying a delicious breakfast of fried eggs, paratha and tea at the Chaman home we drove to the Bunyaad office and warehouse on Nicholson Road to meet the staff and learn more about rug making.
A royal reception was waiting for us when we entered the front door. We had greetings all around with the more than 20 staff people on hand. Doug Horst and I (Doug Dirks) were presented with a basket of gifts that included new Bunyaad mugs and new Bunyaad business cards for both of us.
After lunch we learned about design work and watched designers working on intricate designs that are all drawn and colored by hand.
We also learned about rug finishing that happens at the Bunyaad warehouse. After rugs are washed offsite they are brought back to the warehouse and go through another round of checking. This includes dimensions, edges, fringes and a host of other imperfections that are all thoroughly repaired until the rug looks as near perfect as possible. Even though every rug is entirely handmade they look as close to perfect as you could ever imagine.
We enjoyed a great day getting to know Bunyaad Lahore staff, sharing lunch with them and learning about their work. Bunyaad has assembled an incredibly talented, creative and hard working crew of employees. Probably the most impressive thing we learned today is the incredible dedication and loyalty to Bunyaad that is shared by everyone. It’s obvious that everyone enjoys working together at Bunyaad and that this generates a work environment that produces top quality handmade rugs.
Stay tuned for Doug’s next trip post
We’ll be keeping notes, recording our experiences and taking photos so that you can follow our adventures on the Bunyaad blog. We’ll come back from Pakistan with new friends, memorable experiences, tons of rug making knowledge and lots of new stories to tell.
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Just in case you missed the first post. Read Pakistan Learning Tour
We started today with a good buffet breakfast at the Maisonette Firhill, our hotel in Murree. Then we all piled into the trusty Bunyaad Toyota Land Cruiser and headed off toward Jared.
Nothing tops sitting face to face with someone and getting to know them over a cup of tea. Three of our staffers (Jenni, Heike and Yousaf) along with Ten Thousand Villages Canada Rug Program Manager and Winnipeg store manager Gwen Repeta are currently traveling throughout Pakistan, meeting with rug artisans and seeing the fair trade difference in action. Where do we start first?
When you come to any of our rug rooms and during all of our rug events across the US and Canada you get a glimpse into the world of rug making and see the artisans at work in the video 
On Sunday morning we walked across the street to attend church at St. John’s Baptist Church. Chaman Masih, the founder of Bunyaad, is the founding and lead pastor. We met the associate Pastor, George Gil, as well. During the service Doug Horst and I (Doug Dirks) were introduced as guests from the USA and asked to say a few words. After church we got together with a few people at the Chaman home to visit. We ended talking about our religious origins and beliefs – interesting stuff. 
