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5master craftsmen started working to revive many of the crafts, including ikat silk weaving.Such efforts have been helped by several externally funded enterprise initiatives.Looms at the Yodgurlik Handloom Weaving MillThe Yodgorlik Handloom Weaving Mill in Margalan in the Fergana Valley, a mill setup during the Soviet period in the 1970s, became the focus of one such project, funded andsupported by the British Council in Uzbekistan. This aim was to assist in the revival of handloomed silk production and rekindle the region’s reputation for exquisite silks. The idea wasoriginally conceived by Michael Sinel, a crafts consultant for the United Nations inUzbekistan. He recognized that the need was for much bigger sales in new markets if both theartisans and the ikats were to survive.As a textile designer based in the UK I was invited in 1997 by the British Council,together with the Fashion Director at the time of Marks and Spencer in the UK, to conductdesign seminars for textile and fashion designers to help them orient themselves towardsWestern markets. On our first visit we were taken to the Yodgorlik mill, where I was quitecaptivated by the silks and the attempts the artisans themselves were making to keep thesilks alive. Seizing the opportunity presented, Michael Sinel and I put forward our ideas.“Do you want to turn this into a project,” was the response from the Director of the BritishCouncil in Uzbekistan, to which we replied with a resounding ‘yes’.