The Souk Central Market is venue to a very special kiosk called Sougha. A treasure trove of tasteful handcrafts, this is the ideal stop-over for souvenirs and small gifts. Take a closer look and you’ll find that no one item is similar to another, because each is handcrafted and homemade by the once bedouin tribeswomen of Abu Dhabi’s Western region. You’ll also find that each item bears a tag with the name and hometown of the lady who made it.
Sougha is a project launched by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise and Development. They’re not only working to empower local ladies but also reviving traditional Emirati arts and crafts that were very nearly lost. Traditionally, a bedouin woman would weave to make her tent, and everything that went into it. But when the economic development happened, and the government offered houses to all the nationals, the nomadic tribes settled and there was no longer a need to weave.
We met with Leila Ben Gacem, who is manager of the entrepreneurship development department at Sougha. ‘A lot of the women we work with, they had completely stopped weaving for 15-20 years,’ said Leila, ‘and now they’ve brought it back. What I really hope for the future is that the average age of our artisans comes down, to ensure the sustainability. When we first started the project, our artisans were in their 70s and 60s. Now the age is coming down to the 40s and 30s.’
But going from tent weaving to making bags, bookmarks and mobile phone covers is surely a drastic change. Furthermore, to improve economic sustainability, original materials have been replaced with cheaper, more viable ones. ‘Traditionally the tent was woven in sheep’s wool,’ explained Leila, ‘which the lady hand-spun herself. But to improve the economic opportunity for what they do, we have changed the wool to cotton. It’s washable and easier to use as a commercial product, so it’s more sellable. But we can and do custom make any products in traditional wool when we get a request for them.’
So how much of the authenticity has been preserved? ‘We do not give any pattern ideas,’ said Leila. ‘All the patterns you see on the products are inspired by the Emirati bedouin prints which were used outside and inside of the bedouin tent. Also the weave, the production technique and looms used to produce the products have not been altered. We have only given the ladies training in finishing and sewing their weave, and also training in colour coordination.’
Admiring the intricacy of some of the patterns which adorn these simple items, we asked Leila to tell us a little about them. She showed us two examples: a small tri-colour bag, with a simple weave, and a bookmark that bears an elaborate strip of patterns that seem Neolithic. ‘Traditionally, the outside of the Bedouin tent was woven in very simple patterns.’ This was the first example, which she referred to as the Sadu. The more intricate pattern she called Sha’ra, which traditionally decorated the inside of the tent. More specifically, it was used on those big, woven, panels that divided up the space to create separate room-like sections in the tent. ‘Sha’ra comes from the local dialect’s word for tree – ‘shajarah’’ said Leila, ‘because it branches out. Each pattern has a story, which is usually the story of the tent. And most tribes will have a logo, which they would weave onto their tents. And they use the same logo to stamp their animals.’
‘The crafts that we’re trying to revive are the textile weave, the palm fibre weaving, and the Talli.’ Here, Leila showed us some bracelets. ‘This is a sort of braid the ladies used to decorate the sleeves of their candora with. It was sewn onto the dress. It takes a long time to make, and most of the ladies have stopped making Talli, so we’re trying to revive it through these accessories which are very popular.’ We move onto some woven key-chains which use a technique called Hannagah. These items have been adapted from what was traditionally a very long band or cord that the bedouin used to decorate their animals with. ‘Very few women still make most of the crafts that you see, but we’re trying to adapt the technique into products that need less production time, and are more colourful and attractive, but also useable.’
The Sougha kiosk at Souk Central Market is the Sough initiative’s only permanent location in Abu Dhabi. The products are also on sale at most exhibitions. In Dubai Sougha products are on sale at Global Village and at all More Cafes. Etihad Airways also sell some items on board. Sougha at Souk Central Market, Ittihad Square (02 810 7810).
