Towels Weaving (Tobafi)

In this article, you will be introduced to the fine art of Towel Weaving (Tobafi), which is one of the handicrafts of the people of Khorasan-e-Jonubi. Follow us on.

Towel weaving, which has been practiced in one of the villages of Khorasan in the past, is called Kharashad. Most women in this village are weaving. The raw material is silk or crack.

South Khorasan is a historic area where many handicrafts are produced. It has different landscapes, natural textures, and rural areas and has developed a habitat based on the arts available to it. In general, The artists of this land benefit from natural materials, and their art is made of beautiful textures that catch the eye of every viewer.

Kharashad is a village located 5 kilometres southeast of Birjand. Towel Weaving (Tobafi) is one of the most important handicrafts in South Khorasan province and they are hand crafted towels. It is the only handicraft in the province, which has been nominated for the Seal of Authenticity from the country’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization.

To weave the fabric traditionally, Tobafi first supplies raw materials such as cotton, silk, or wool, and then weaves yarn. Next, boil the yarn obtained and use flour to thicken it. Then with the help of these fabrics and the weaving machine wheel, the final product is obtained. A delicate and unobtrusive product that calms the body and makes the desert climate bearable.

Toubafi-art(Towel Weaving) in Birjand Kharashad

The rural women of South Khorasan have been producing handicrafts, including rugs, carpets, and traditional fabrics in addition to agriculture, livestock, and household chores.

Handmade towels (Tobafi) are one of the most revitalized and original arts in South Khorasan. After the carpet weaving of the most profitable handicrafts and is now a candidate for the stamp of international authenticity. In all the houses in this village, there are several women housewives. َAlso, Even college students and women, who are not present in the village, return to Kharashad on holiday and weave cloth. The women of the village set up a co-operative in 2010 that buys all the products they produce.

Textiles were able to provide for the households and compensate for droughts, and the people of the village were able to make a living through textiles.

Scarves, travel towels, baby towels, toiletries, pocket handkerchiefs, kitchen towels, filters, night tents, etc. are the products that rural women wear. Also, the distinctive feature of these fabrics is that they are 100% cotton and handmade and have low sensitivity and volume. Superior water absorption, anti-allergenic, and naturalness are the benefits of woven products in this village.

The field of weaving towels that is locally known as weaving Handmade towels (Tobafi) is one of the oldest handicrafts in South Khorasan. According to historical documents, the popularity of hand-made cotton and silk fabrics made in the province of Old Ghahestan in the early Islamic centuries is widely cited.

Various products of weaving towels include hand and face towels and bath towels, toiletries, filters, napkins, tents, head scarves, lanterns, and more. Towel production is already popular in many cities of South Khorasan and Birjand. One of the main towel production centers in the province, especially the village of Khorashad.

Kharashad is located 2 kilometres from Birjand, the capital of the province, and the population of the village was announced 750 people. According to the World Council of Crafts, the village of Kharashad was registered as weaving towels (Tobafi) World Village after the investigation.

The first spark of Tobafi art revives in the mind of a struggling lady from the village. Fatima Zakirian is the first to sympathize with the introduction of Tobafi art in Kharashad. It starts with a bankrupt company, the days when there were droughts in the countryside and most men went from town to town to make money. From there, she decides to change the future of the bankrupt cooperative company of Kharashad with the hands of its female artists.

She traps herself in the cavernous warehouses and lifts the shoulder blades out of the ground. As a result, is the first to be built in Khurashad. In two years, he was able to employ forty-two women in Kharashad. In the year 2015, he won the title of top Entrepreneur in Iran. Making money for the women who started towel weaving made them happy, and now every house in Kharashad has become a towel-weaving workshop. The women of the towel weaving industry in Kharashad have gone beyond towel manufacturing to diversify their products to different markets.

Now, all the women in the village of Kharashad make money by weaving towels and handkerchiefs, completely cotton and very beautiful. Hoping that the registration of the village by the World Crafts Organization will help them become more aware of the village’s 300-year-old art in the future.