Aik Hunar Aik Nagar (AHAN) is operating as a not-for-profit Company since 2007. It is registered under Section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984, and is a subsidiary of Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), under administrative control of Ministry of Industries and Production, Government of Pakistan.
AHAN is governed by a Board of Directors (BoD) having representation from both public and private sectors. Company Head Office has been established at Lahore with regional offices at all four provincial headquarters ie Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta.
AHAN concept is designed to emulate the OVOP (One Village One Product) of Japan and OTOP (One Tombon One Product) of Thailand programs which have been quite successful in modernising non-farm micro- and small-enterprises (MSEs) and thus improving employment prospects of the poor.
Our objectives...
-- To support poverty alleviation initiatives of Government of Pakistan through facilitating rural craft persons, artisans and poor producer groups in accessing services such as skill trainings, product development, quality assurance, marketing, technological up-gradation and support in access to micro finance.
-- To cater for neglected sector of hand crafted products produced in rural, semi urban areas.
How do we work...
To achieve its objectives, AHAN initiates clearly defined, product-specific Projects in rural and semi urban areas across the country. These projects are selected on the following criteria: number of micro & small enterprises - MSEs engaged in an area; growth potential; geographic location; target group (eg women, landless); marketability of the product; availability of raw materials.
What we do...
AHAN develops rural, non-farm clusters through provision of following services to male and female artisans and craft persons:
-- Skill Enhancement and capacity building
-- Product Development/Designing
-- Technological Input
-- Quality Assurance
-- Marketing and promotion
-- Financial Support
What we have done so far....
Product Development and Quality Assurance
Most modern design facilities have been arranged at AHAN. Teams of creative designers, patternmakers and cutters in all major sectors such as textile, ceramics, leather ware, silver ware and woodwork have been taken onboard. These designers, in close co-ordination with marketing department continuously work on developing new products with improved designs, new uses and better color schemes for changing market trends.
Marketing and Promotion of Rural Crafts
AHAN has provided a platform for rural artisans and craft persons to place and promote their products in better markets through establishing linkages and participation in exhibitions and fairs. Rural artisans now have business links with renowned designers, private entrepreneurs and buying houses/outlets.
AHAN Projects
Since commencement of its operations, AHAN has completed following 79 projects all across the country covering more than 30 districts and through participation of 43 partner organisations from public & private sectors, NGOs, MFIs, educational institutes, entrepreneurs, designers etc. Around 70% of the beneficiaries are women.
40 new projects are being implemented during the current financial year on selected locations of all four provinces, Gilgit/ Baltistan and AJK with an approximate cost of Rs 55 million.
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Region No of Projects Beneficiary Artisans
/Craft Persons
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Male Female Total
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Sindh 23 898 1610 2508
Punjab 19 2266 1780 4046
KPK 19 2215 4018 6233
Balochistan 18 1034 5927 6961
Total 79 6413 13335 19,748
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