Jan Kath’s MAGIC CARPET RIDE
It’s the end of monsoon season in Nepal and the road leading to Jan Kath’s rug-making facility on the outskirts of Kathmandu bears the bruises of heavy rains. Marred by jagged rocks and knee-deep pits of mud, the city’s roads are constantly claiming tires. I notice with some alarm that the low stone bridge we’re crossing looks partially collapsed, but as Kath nudges his 4×4 around a pair of cows blocking the road, he exudes a Zen-like calm. He grew up in Germany, but he learned to drive in Kathmandu, he tells me. Everywhere else on earth is easy by comparison.
Passing through the factory gates into the central courtyard, I see a woman sitting to one side combining skeins of wool, silk and nettle thread into brightly coloured balls; behind her is a row of workers’ living quarters, and around the corner a daycare full of preschool-age children. My attention, though, is immediately captured by the yawning door to
