For the Afghan farmers and entrepreneurs who weave textiles, package vegetables, or manage livestock, the proof of their success is readily appreciated—they can hold it in their hands and see it in the extra income available to their families.

But it takes some creativity to communicate that same sense of achievement to a broader, urban audience perhaps hundreds of miles from the fields and markets where these successes are happening. That was the challenge facing Afghanistan Works, a photo exhibit presented June 22–26 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The response was exceptional. More than 6,000 guests came to the event in historic Babur Gardens, where professionally displayed photos featured products promoted and livelihoods supported under Incentives Driving Economic Alternatives—North, East and West (IDEA-NEW), a DAI-led project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The exhibit was opened by Deputy Minister of Agriculture H.E. Salim Khan Kunduzi and other senior officials from the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the U.S. Government. The exhibit was open to the media, research centers, VIPs, and the general public.

“Afghanistan’s agricultural successes are laying the foundations for peace and prosperity, but it is not a story we often hear in the media,” said H.E. Mohammad Asif Rahimi, Minister of the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock. “IDEA-NEW is helping our Ministry and the private sector to generate jobs for Afghan farm families who have already begun to make a big difference in the short and long run. This photo exhibit is a great way to see how cooperation with government, donors, and communities can generate real success.”

In addition to showcasing agricultural goods now being raised and brought to market, the exhibit showed photo displays of IDEA-NEW infrastructure projects that strengthen agricultural value chains, such as irrigation for farmlands and roads for better access to markets.

“We believe this was the first time in Afghanistan that a development program highlighted its achievements through such a major photo exhibit,” said Jonathan Greenham, IDEA-NEW’s Chief of Party.

“The exhibit has brought hope to many Afghans and shown them that in spite of the instability and conflict that takes center stage in the media, many rural inhabitants are benefitting from jobs implementing infrastructure projects and reviving and improving traditional businesses, such as textiles and beekeeping.”

The photos were taken by IDEA-NEW local-national staffer Aziz Karimi, local-national freelancer Ali Changezy, and Swiss photojournalist Rafaela Persson. The picture frames, glass, and caption cards, and the walls for the exhibit, were purchased from local vendors. Photos displays were supplemented with samples of agricultural inputs, tools, and finished products from the program beneficiaries, including textiles, fresh produce, and honey.

Since July 2009, IDEA-NEW has created nearly 13,000 jobs in agriculture, community-constructed infrastructure, and rural business development, putting people back to work, reducing their dependence on the opium poppy and other illicit economies, and enabling them to support their families. The project was recently profiled in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

While DAI leads IDEA-NEW, which is active across 14 Afghan provinces, it is joined on the project by nongovernmental organizations Mercy Corps in the northeast and ACDI/VOCA in the northwest and central provinces.