Our Story

Aayenda, meaning ‘future’ in Dari, was launched by the not-for-profit Future Brilliance | Afghanistan in August 2013. Collections are designed by Afghan artisans in collaboration with award-winning international designers such as Anna Ruth Henriques, Paul Spurgeon and Annie Fensterstock.

Our collections use gold plated sterling silver and gold plated base metals and feature Afghan lapis from the world’s oldest mines. They are manufactured by members of the Aayenda Jewelry Co-operative in Afghanistan. The fine lapis beads featured in many of the pieces are hand carved by artisans in rural Afghanistan. This bead-making business is managed by Khala Zada, a 50-year old illiterate Afghan woman, who is the inspiration behind our program and a founder of the Aayenda Jewelry Co-operative. We hope to increase the number of artisans she employs to over 3000 through the sales of this jewelry brand.