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Part of Al Dhafra Festival 2010
ADACH support traditional handcraft makers
Abu Dhabi – large number of visitors flocked to the Traditional Market held alongside Al Dhafra Festival in Zayed City in Al Gharbia (the Western Region of Abu Dhabi) in the festivals first days.
The festival ,Kicked off last Saturday and will continue until February 8, is organized by Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) under the patronage of HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The unique designee of the market has grabbed the attention of the festival visitors whether locals or tourists who have a chance to experience UAE’s heritage closely.
The market is held on a 12,000 sqm area with 180 different shops furnished using mud, wood and palm fronds. The shops offer handicraft products and traditional food made by emirati women aged between 16 and 66 year-old. Also the market includes a popular café and children’s tents where number of activities that reflects national heritage such as quizzes and traditional games in a step to have full internment for the whole family.
Having the traditional market part of the festival aims to increase the awareness of the deep-rooted heritage of Abu Dhabi and the Gulf region, and to safeguard the traditional UAE handicrafts, as well as promoting it to make sure it survives through future generations.
Saeed Al Ka’abi, director of the market said “ADACH, through its pioneering support project, aims to revive interest in handicraft products and to produce them in sufficient quantities to be able to market them both locally and internationally. The project aspires to document and develop handicraft in Abu Dhabi, to encourage practicing the skills of the forefathers, to develop products to match the requirements of modern times and to re-energise the handicraft sector as an important economic sector, especially for women”.
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