In a small village in Pakistan...<br/> <br />Ali Akbar goes door to door plying his trade as a wool carder<br/> <br />As the cool weather nears, families will give him their wool-stuffed quilts for him to de-clump, fluff and refill.<br/> <br />It's an age old tradition but it's giving way to modern tastes.<br/> <br />(carding/ringing)<br/> <br />The manual method of recarding is being replaced by machines like this one at a shop in Karachi.<br/> <br />KARACHI , PAKISTAN (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)<br/> <br />15. (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) OWNER OF COTTON RE-CYCLING SHOP, FAQIR MOHAMMAD, SAYING:<br/> <br />"Cotton fluffed up by hand is not as supple and soft as that done by a carding machine. A machine loosens out all the filaments of the compressed cotton wool completely, and it therefore becomes much softer, and rises."<br/> <br />Craftsmen still carry on the tradition of manually stuffing and hand stiching conforters, pillows and mattress pads.<br/> <br />The labor-intensive process can result in a product that can last for decades.
