The 30th national exhibition of handicrafts came to a close on Friday after a week with a satisfying outcome according to a top official at Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.
Naming a number of the expo's remarkable achievements, Pouya Mahmoudian, handicrafts deputy at ICHHTO, pointed to a memorandum of understanding between her department and the Tourism Bank to offer loans to those involved in the sector.
"The MoU that was signed in the initial days of the event will enable granting loans with an interest rate of 10% to handicraft practitioners and tradespeople in all provinces," she told IRNA.
She explained that the handicrafts department will prepare a file for applicants and give them an introduction letter after which they will be able to receive their loans from the bank.
"The amount of the loan will be determined by the department and might vary for producers and traders, but the payback period will be 30 months for all, that includes a 6-month moratorium and 24 months for repayment," she said.
Furthermore, preliminary talks were held on collaboration between a handicrafts e-market and the Post Bank during the expo under the supervision of ICHHTO's handicrafts department.
The agreement is soon to be finalized, and once inked, 8,000 stalls in the branches of Post Bank across the country will sell handmade artworks, Mahmoudian said.
Overall, the exhibition was so warmly welcomed that, according to the official, several pavilions sold out of their products a couple of days prior to the event's closure.
Highlights
"The most visited sections were the children, toys, handicraft cities and villages and the Iranian House," she said.
A sample model of Iranian House in which traditional artworks are used as furniture was displayed at the expo with the purpose of promoting the possible functions of handicrafts in interior design.
Besides, this year's event managed to familiarize government organizations and the private sector with the potential uses of handicrafts in offices.
"A number of state and semi-state organizations such as the fire department and the Trade Promotion Organization ordered their utility as well as ornamental dishes at the expo," she said.
Mahmoudian noted that premier stalls with the highest rates of sale will be offered special benefits and privileges by ICHHTO, but did not give further details.
"Specialized committees will work out and announce the leading pavilions and the sale figures by the end of the summer," she said.
The 30th National Handicraft Exhibition was held on August 25-31 in Tehran's International Fairground with over 500 stalls across a space of 8,000 square meters. It ran alongside the Iran Handmade Carpet Exhibition.
