Gently murmuring brooks, bright sunshine, crystal-clear air and colourful splashes of vegetations welcome you in the foothills of the Chatkal Mountains. Amidst this beauty where time moves unhurriedly, there lays a small settlement of Zarkent, a centre of wheatstraw wickerwork - a national handkraft once forgotten but now revived.

It all started when Zakir Ergashev, a native of Zarkent, a phisician by profession and a connoisseur of local lore, became interested in this abcient craft and decided to revive it in his native village. During once of his visits to the native settlement his attention was attrakted to has-savats - wickerwork articles made by Tojinisso Shermatova. This 76-year old craftswoman remembers the ancient secrets of the craft and sometimes makes these openwork baskets for family occasions.

Some time ago this craft was very popular in Zarkent. In contrast to ordinary savats made of willow twigs, has-savats are made of wheat straw. In the past they were mostly used by well-to-do members of the local community. On holidays and festive occasions traditional viands were served in them. Foodstuffs stored in such baskets remained fresh for a long time.

The raw material for has-savats was usually prepared after the wheat harvest. Wheat stalks were cleaned of grain and leaves. Grain was used for making flour, and leaves for making saman - raw bricks, while the straw was soaked in water and used for making has-savats.

This craft, as most national crafts, was passed over from generation to generation, and sometimes was the main occupation of whole families. Tojinisso Shermatova, for instance, learned this craft from her mother and grandmother, and now makes has-savats for her grandchildren.

Zakir Ergashev decided to learn the craft himself and also to teach his wife and daughters. Their efforts finally brought them to the State Committee for Nature Protection, which gave them a grant for reviving the ancient craft. They set up a private farm called "Has-Savat", and Tojinisso Shermatova acquired new apprentices at the Centre of Modern Arts of Uzbekistan. Some of them were purchased by the National Academy of Arts for various exhibitions.

Today the remarkable articles of the revived craft are on display in exhibition halls andon sale in art salons. As decoration they will do justice to any interior.