LALEJIN, Iran - The small city of Lalejin in Iran’s western Hamadan province, is a thriving tourist attraction, drawing in people to browse its shops selling locally made handicrafts, especially pottery. While unemployment in Iran has increased under US sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic, in Lalejin residents say not one person is unemployed.
“If someone wants to work in this city, they will not be jobless. People in this city have been doing this craft for ages because of the suitability of the place’s soil and this is what attracts tourists to come to this place,” said Ramazan Haidari, 71, who learned pottery from his father and has been excelling at it for 50 years.
“Now there are hundreds of pottery factories in Lalejin, which not only has ended unemployment in the city, but it offers jobs to people from other cities in Hamadan,” he added.
Almost all the shops in Lalejin sell pottery of different colours and types. Sculptures in the streets pay homage to potters and their craft.
Haidari said Lalejin’s fame and the skill of its artisans have protected it from the financial crisis that crippled Iran’s economy. “It is true that the financial crisis in the past three years and later the coronavirus had a lot of effect on sales and the number of tourists, but even with that our city is still known as the city without unemployed people,” he said.
Unemployment in Iran is 9.4 percent, according to the World Bank.
A 2021 study published in the Journal of Applied Economic Studies in Iran found that Lalejin, with its commercial-based tourism, has shown resilience to economic hardships.
Lalejin, built on rich clay soil, was labeled the pottery capital of Iran by the UNESCO-affiliated World Crafts Council. The craft has flourished here for 300 years. At first, the pottery was purely functional, but over time more intricate designs and techniques were developed.
In one of the factories stands a man of average height. At first glance, he looks like an employee, but he is actually the owner of the factory. “When I was a student, I was also working in this field. I quit my studies 10 years ago and started working. Now I own this factory and have five employees,” Sajad Asghari told Rudaw English.
“I have been married for two years and my income is really good. The coronavirus affected our sales, but I am grateful,” he said. “Many youth here do not pay a lot of attention to their studies because they know that the income of this industry is better than being a government employee and if someone wants to work here they can get a good income in a few years and get married.”
Hamadan has many historic attractions, but the city of Lalejin is considered the center of tourism in the province.
“I saw the handicrafts of this place on social media and I really wanted to visit when I had the chance. I’m very impressed by the beautiful handicraft,” Maryam Kitabi, who was visiting with her family, told Rudaw English.
“We ran out of money I bought so much stuff, but I swear there was a lot more that I liked and wanted to buy. I could have bought a truck full,” she said, pointing at what she had purchased and laughing.
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