Abu Dhabi’s standing as an international centre for the arts is growing, but Emirati women have been adding artistry to every day items for centuries. Abu Dhabi Week spent a morning with the ladies of the Sougha Initiative who are preserving their way of life – and making some great modern handicrafts at the same time.

The desert is draped in fog as we take the lonesome road to Liwa, but as the sun rises, the shadows give texture to the undulating dunes in the Western Region.

The contrast of shadow and sunlight is a photographer’s dream, but we can’t stop. We’ve got an important appointment to keep – a group of Bedouin ladies are waiting for us at the home of Raissa Al Mansouri in Hameem to show us the products they’ve been working on.

“Sougha (pronounced SOO-ha) started as an initiative launched by the Khalifa Fund two years ago,” explains Leila Ben-Gacem, the Tunisian-born Manager of Entrepreneurship Development Department at Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development. “The objective of the initiative was to revive Emirati heritage through the creation of economic opportunity to artisan groups.”

You may have seen the Sougha women displaying their skills and selling their wares at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition at ADNEC or at the Liwa Dates Festival a few weeks ago.

Who are the Sougha ladies? Most of these lively Emirati ladies are grandmothers living in and around the villages of the Western Region. “The first small group were aged 60 to 70 and they joined to preserve their heritage – they felt that something very valuable was being lost,” says Leila.

Those first adventurous women learned how to apply the skills of weaving textiles and palm leaves – skills originally used to make desert tents and containers for storing dates – to make items of use to a modern audience. Leila shows me piece of fabric which has been woven into a pattern of triangles.

“This pattern is becoming extinct; this is an example of the Bedouin art of textile weaving called Sadou which was originally done with camel hair or sheep’s wool.”

The ladies are also proficient in the art of palm leaf weaving called Khous (hoos) – most of the women had lost the art of dying but Leila and her partner, Dubai native Qumasha, have taught them.

Instead of making tents and camel blankets, the Sougha ladies now use the same centuries-old techniques to make a whole range of products – accessories like mobile phone carriers, wallets, make up cases, business card holders and handbags plus home decor items like table runners and pillows.

How have the products of the Sougha ladies been received? Hugely – market acceptance has been so high, in fact, that more and more ladies are asking to join Sougha, ladies like Ghabsha.

“I’ve only been with Sougha for about six months. I wanted to get involved because I’m very passionate about my work – I feel my products are being valued. It’s a good feeling,” says Ghabsha as she stitches strips together to make a tote bag. “My husband died and left me with many animals, so I have a lot of work to do on my farm, but I love to do this.”

Like many of her peers, Ghabsha spends much of her time at her farm in the desert.

“Most of the women live in rural areas where it’s very hard to find a job,” says Leila. “This project allows them to work from home and contribute to their family’s income using the only skills they know.”

This situation is perfect for ladies like our hostess Raissa, who looks after 30 camels.

“I participated for the first time this year – it was fun to see so many people.”

Subeyha, another Sougha artist, shows us how she does everything by hand, even harvesting leaves from her own palm trees; another lady brings a bag that she’s painted with the image of a coffee pot and cups.

“My children see me working and they say, ‘This will never be a bag’ but now they all want one to put their computers in,” laughs Subeyha.

Until now, the work of the Sougha ladies has only been available at certain events – look for them the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at ADNEC from 15th to 20th March – but they’ve recently been granted their trade licence, and Sougha will open a shop in the Central Market souk in just a couple of weeks.

Becoming entrepreneurs with Sougha has made a huge impact on the social inclusion of the ladies and helped to bridge the gap between these artisans and the fast paced modern world, explains Leila

“The gap isn’t just lingual but social and cultural, and that’s what the programme is trying to bridge – the link between today and the not-very-distant past.”

Laura Fulton

Shop with Sougha



The Sougha shop is opening at the end of this month in the Central Market Souk in Abu Dhabi. Even better, every fil of every sale will go directly to the woman who made the product, which means you can support the ladies of the Sougha Initiative and walk away with some very cool merchandise at the same time.
For more information, contact the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development at 02 696 0000 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .