Emirati women take tradition to next level

Emirati women artisans located in the remote areas of Abu Dhabi have received new recognition in the form of an assignment to produce more unique handicrafts that symbolise the UAE's heritage.The women artisans will produce prayer mats, bookmarks and misbaah (rosary beads). The woven parts of the products will be made using Emirati Bedouin techniques and will consist of 100 per cent cotton and camel leather — thanks to an initiative of the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD).The EAD has assigned the artisans to produce gifts which will be distributed to the agency's stakeholders and partners in environmental protection, according to a press release issued by the EAD recently.The prints on the unique handmade products are inspired from local designs used on traditional Bedouin tents. About ten women artisans in the remote towns of Abu Dhabi — four from Gayathi, three from Al Wathba, two from Al Rahba, and one from Sila — are involved in the project, an official spokesperson of the EAD told Gulf News.Asked the total number of products to be made and their monetary value, the spokesperson said: "The value of these products is in the message that they carry. They are unique handmade products that highlight Emirati heritage and which are made of sustainable materials that come from the local environment." The initiative is in line with the EAD's corporate social responsibility policy, which helps ensure that any work by the agency has minimal impact on the environment while contributing to the emirate's socio-economic well-being.The agency has made a new partnership with ‘Sougha', a Khalifa Fund initiative for the project.Sougha is a programme that has helped revive Emirati heritage through local artisan development.Sougha artisans come from all over the UAE, including remote towns in the Western Region of the Abu Dhabi emirate such as Sila, Gayathi, Al Mirfa and Hamim. The word Sougha, in the Emirati dialect, means gifts bought by a traveller for his family upon returning from a journey. The artisans who make the products learnt the skills from their mothers. Today, they manage their home-based businesses, and market their products with the support of the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development. Laila Bin Qasim, director of the Sougha Initiative, Khalifa Fund, said the EAD's support will contribute to the sustenance of UAE craftsmanship while reflecting positively on the Khalifa Fund's efforts in the area of social development."We call on government agencies and other national companies to promote the efforts that fall under this initiative," she said.The Sougha Initiative organises several awareness sessions and workshops for the artisans, through which they try to educate them on self-employment and on how to build a successful business. From / Gulf News