TEHRAN -- Across western Iran, traditional crafts have long reflected the rhythms of everyday life. 
Among the communities historically associated with the ancient Medes, one particularly distinctive practice is Var weaving, an age-old technique used to create durable floor coverings from sheep’s wool. 
Recently registered on Iran’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage list, with Islamabad-e Gharb at its center, the craft is now receiving renewed attention as researchers and cultural activists work to secure its future.
Unlike felt-making, which relies on pressing and rubbing wool fibers together, Var is produced through spinning and weaving. Traditionally, its yarn was made entirely from sheep’s wool, with natural variations in fiber color creating patterns without the need for synthetic dyes. 
Its thick texture offered practical protection against ground moisture, while distinctive fringes along both ends helped distinguish it from conventional kilims.
The revival began with a question about the origins of regional weaving patterns. In 2021, researcher and cultural activist Meysam Rajabi, working alongside local weaving educators, began investigating whether the motifs used in Var and kilim weaving genuinely reflected local traditions or had been borrowed from other weaving cultures
Working with weaving instructor Hadis Sahami and local craft practitioners, Rajabi helped identify five characteristic traditional motifs. 
Photographs of older textiles were collected from surrounding villages, compared with designs from other regions and digitally 
reconstructed. The research also contributed to a practical record of the craft’s techniques.
The collaboration culminated in a book by Sahami, Var of Islamabad-e Gharb (Chakdar), documenting the weaving process, materials and traditional patterns. The publication represents an important step in preserving knowledge that had largely survived through oral instruction and the hands-on experience of generations of weavers.
Although Islamabad-e Gharb became the focal point of its national registration in 2024, Var weaving has a wider cultural geography, extending across parts of Kermanshah, Ilam, Kurdistan, Lorestan and West Azerbaijan, as well as neighboring areas of Iraq.
Yet official recognition is only the beginning. The craft’s survival depends on practical investment: training younger generations, supporting artisans, maintaining access to natural wool, protecting traditional techniques and developing sustainable markets.
For Var weaving, the challenge is to find a balance between heritage and contemporary livelihoods. With meaningful support, this ancient textile tradition could become both a source of cultural continuity and a viable economic opportunity for rural communities.
Its future will ultimately depend not simply on preserving the patterns of the past, but on keeping the hands that create them at work.