Saudi women had the chance to exhibit their handmade crafts at an exhibition taking place alongside the first-ever Productive Family Forum in Jeddah at the end of last month. Pottery creations, traditional dress as well as musical instruments (Rababah) were among the products displayed. Many had been made by women living in Makkah and Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, the Emir of Makkah, called on creating an international identity for such products: ‘Made in Makkah'. “This forum is meant to represent our hidden skills and help families to be productive and independent,” he remarked, adding that the Makkah government's major role is to provide employment opportunities for Saudi citizens and therefore, help them live a decent life. “This forum will give them the chance to work from home easily by giving them a commercial license.” The Chairperson of the forum, Olfat M. Kabbani, is also a board member and chairman of the board for social responsibilities at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), and she remarked that one major target of the forum is to diversify the source of income in families. “It is part of our responsibilities to help them (families) increase their income as well as change the prevailing attitudes towards handmade products,” she said. “In fact we have even started a Web site marketing handmade Saudi goods both inside and outside the Kingdom.” Almost all of these goods are produced by Saudi men and women; they collect the material, produce the good and exhibit it to customers themselves. In most cases, the good reflects the talent of the person producing it, as creating handmade products normally starts as a hobby. This happened with Nouf F. Zainy, a participant in the exhibition, who told Saudi Gazette that she used to make handmade soaps at home for her children, as they didn't like store-bought ones. As a result, she started “inventing” a number of different soaps, experimenting with images of cartoon characters and animals to appeal to children. “I think it is easy to make soaps, but very difficult to market them,” she stated. “I have tried a number of times, but failed, but this forum is giving me the opportunity to succeed as it gives you direct contact with Saudi businessmen and companies. The forum was also an opportunity for some physically challenged people to showcase their extraordinary skills, with some deaf and dumb participants producing traditional clothes and showing off their considerable tailoring skills as a result. “We decided to participate in this forum to reflect the creativity of special needs people and to share their development with the rest of society,” remarked Abeer Hammlan, the representative of the Electronic Fancywork factory in Jeddah in an interview with Saudi Gazette. “These beautiful clothes have been proudly made by deaf and dumb workers in the factory. We trained them to use sign language, so they can communicate with people easily. I think they are going to be famous in a couple of years!”
