Qumasha picks up the palm frond beach bag with its camel skin straps, takes one look at it and then gives voice to the zalghuta to communicate her joy. This is Mahna’s first beach bag and, considering she’s only attended one Sougha course so far, it’s a pretty good attempt. But wait, nothing escapes Qumasha’s keen eye and attention to detail. When she places the bag on the desk it fails to stand. She turns it over to find that the bottom protrudes outward. Something’s gone wrong with the weaving.
‘The finishing on this is poor,’ she says, and Mahna makes excuses as her fellow weavers each offer their two fils about a solution to the problem. The room is enveloped in a cacophony of women’s voices. ‘She needs to do one more course,’ Qumasha says about Mahna. ‘Now that she’s tried it and knows what problems she will face, she’ll benefit from the course more.’
Qumasha has been working on the Khalifa Fund’s Sougha project for over two years now. She belongs to a small but passionate team that makes great things happen. Originally from Dubai, weaving is not a culture she can lay claim to.
‘My people are beach people, you know, from Jumeirah.’ She smiles ‘We didn’t live in tents so we didn’t need to weave. I learnt how to weave after I got married and moved to Abu Dhabi.’
Nonetheless, she’s a pro now who can guide these Bedouin ladies in how to use their skills to make products which are marketable in the UAE today. So boukhour (incense) turns into scented candles; camel harnesses become bracelets and bookmarks; date baskets become beach bags and place mats; the traditional talli embroidery used to embellish the sleeves and neckline of the candoura is now used for wristbands and coasters.
This is the point of the Sougha project; to revive dying arts in the Emirates, and also to support these ladies on their journey to empowerment. Aside from the khouss (palm-frond) weavers, Sougha also supports sadou (textile) weavers, boukhour makers, talli makers and potters. These are artisans who retain the skills and know-how of their heritage arts, passed on through the ages. But without the need to practice, these skills will die out with the last of the Bedouins that knew them. Before Sougha, most of the women hadn’t woven anything in over 20 years. When the nomads settled there were no need for tents and date baskets.
‘One lady told me when her mother first joined Sougha that it was the first time in her whole life that she saw her mother weave,’ Qumasha says. ‘People were telling her, “What’s the point? What will you use this for?” but now these women who started two years ago are experts. Some make Dhs20,000 a month from sales. I told one of them, “you are ready to start your own small business.” But she doesn’t want to. She’s happy to be working with Sougha.’
The Khalifa Fund project offers invaluable support to these artisans. First it gives them training, teaching them about the market, educating them in what kinds of things will sell, training them in colour coordination, design and finishing techniques, and finally even giving them a crash course on the financial aspect. The courses are daily ones, lasting only four to five hours, because these women have households to run, animals to tend to and families to raise. After the training they provide the women with all the raw materials they need to get started and even the tools they will need. Once the women start making revenue, Sougha links them up with the suppliers.
‘We negotiate with the cotton and leather suppliers for them,’ says Leila Ben Gacem, who is manager of the Entrepreneurship Development Department at Sougha. ‘Usually these ladies wouldn’t leave the Western Region, but now some of them go to Dubai and they buy big quantities and they sell to all their neighbours and the tribe – so we’re creating another business.’
If you’d like to support local enterprise development and Sougha’s work, buy Sougha products! The Sougha kiosk at Souk Central Market is the Sougha initiative’s only permanent location in Abu Dhabi. The products are also on sale at most exhibitions and will exhibit at Design Days in Dubai from March 18 to 21, and then at the upcoming Abu Dhabi Book Fair from March 28 to April 2. On March 17 the French Alliance will organise a visit to Liwa, where Emirati craftswomen who work with Sougha will welcome guests into their homes to show their work, tell their stories and share a majlis meal.
For more information about the French Alliance visit to Liwa, or to register, contact the French Alliance (02 666 6232). Sougha at Souk Central Market, Ittihad Square (02 810 7810).
