LAHORE: An exhibition titled ‘Handmade in Pakistan’, orgainsed by Aik Hunar Aik Nagar (AHAN) at the Heritage Museum, commenced on Friday with an aim to showcase handmade products developed by Pakistani craftsmen from across the country. AHAN is organising the three-day exhibition in collaboration with the Danish Government’s Centre for Culture and Development (CKU). Industries and Production Minister Ghulam Murtaza Khan Jatoi along with Ministry of Industries and Production Parliamentary Secretary Rao Muhammad Ajmal Khan inaugurated the exhibition. Benazir Income Support Programme Minister and Chairperson Marvi Memon and AHAN Chairperson Shireen Arshad Khan also graced the occasion. A large number of people, gathered on the occasion, visited various stalls and met the artisans and craftsmen belonging to different parts of the country. Proceeds from the exhibition shall be used for further skill development of artisans. Naveed Sheikh said that the exhibition provides a great opportunity to Pakistani craftsmen to develop their linkages with potential buyers, which would alleviate poverty and improve their livelihood. AHAN facilitates rural craftsmen, artisans and poor producer groups in accessing services such as skill trainings, product development, quality assurance and marketing of handmade traditional handicraft/products. So far around 30,000 male and female artisans and craft persons have benefited from AHAN programmes. AHAN adopted a two-pronged approach from the outset. On one hand the organisation initiated pilot projects in numerous geographic clusters of artisans/poor producer groups while on the other hand it also undertook a research and analysis exercise to determine development potential among local rural enterprises. The objective of this campaign was to determine baseline criteria for the eventual development of a long term strategy to create sustainable income generation opportunities for a large segment of society living in rural, semi urban, small cities and towns of Pakistan.