Sana Abdul Salam Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Celebrating Ramadan's spirit of helping others, the “Date Festival” assisted underprivileged Saudi women become more independent by helping them setup stalls to sell products that they have created. While displaying various kinds of dates available in the Kingdom, the event also celebrated various aspects of the Hijazi culture by way of recitation of Meccan poetry and the selling of handmade Saudi artifacts. The two-day festival, held on Thursday and Friday, was opened by Princess Alanoud Bint Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Abdul-rahman Al-saud, wife of the Governor of Makkah Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, at the Jeddah Intercontinental. It was organized by the Saudi Women's Welfare Society. Sabah Yassin, board member of the Saudi Women's Welfare Society, said: “The ‘Date Festival' brings out the way dates are used in different ways in the Saudi culture, so we have women selling different products such as mamoul, cakes and cookies that incorporate the fruit. “We contacted different charities, as well as had women from our Rubaats (shelter homes) participate in selling their products. This provides them with a friendly and competitive environment where they are comfortable marketing and selling their products before entering the wider market.” The festival also included stalls from established businesses. The products on display were three fold, beginning with stalls for dates and date products, a bazaar for traditional thobes and accessories, and handmade products that depicted Saudi culture. Ruwaida Al-fadl, owner of handicraft store “Aydeena,” explained that their establishment works toward selling products made by women from underprivileged backgrounds, especially by those who live in shelter homes. She said: “We want people to buy the product not only because of the context in which they were made, but because they are of good quality and they genuinely like them. So we try to encourage innovation so that they are creating original products and not just copying what is out there in the market.” The products displayed by “Aydeena,” as Al-fadl puts it, aimed to make Saudi products depict Saudi culture, especially since there is a general shortage of good souvenir places in the country. “Rastaka,” an establishment that is a part of the Saudi Women's Welfare society, also displayed products that were handmade by Saudi women. The Saudi Women's Welfare society was established 53 years ago and works towards supporting underprivileged families, as well as helping them become more independent and self-sufficient.
