We still live how our parents and grandparents used to live: Emirati woman

 Hamda Al Muhairi > Age: 56 > UAE National > Al Ain
I was born and grew up in Al Ain, but I moved to Abu Dhabi after I got married. Back then, the city was not a full-fledged city. It was very quiet and everybody knew each other. I can't remember how long ago it was, but when they banned camels in Abu Dhabi we decided to move out into the desert. My husband had family in Ghayati, which is close to the Saudi border, so we moved out there.
Life was simple in Ghayati. Until today, we still live how our parents and grandparents used to live. When not working, men spend most of their time in their majlis, a tent just outside the house, with their friends and male relatives, while women pass their time with children, Arabic coffee and handicrafts.
We had a camel farm and my husband also used to have some small businesses, but after he passed away six years ago, life became hard financially.
One day, the Sougha people came to Ghayati and told us about this new initiative to help Emirati women boost their income by making and selling Emirati handicrafts.
Sougha is a social enterprise initiative and launched by Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, aimed at creating opportunities for unemployable or difficult to employ Emiratis with entrepreneurial potential.
They said all we need is talent. They provided everything else - materials and training to set up a small business. I learnt how to make khouss - palm fronds weaving - since I was a small girl, from my mother, and I thought why not give Sougha a try!
It was something that filled my time and I made a bit of money too. So far, the least profit I made was Dh10,000 per year and the most was Dh30,000. Baskets are the most popular crafts I sell, but I also make fans and floor or table mats. For this last National Day I made fans that looked like small flags, in the UAE flag colours.
In the past three years,
I started going to all the big heritage festivals in the emirate. I went to Liwa Dates Festival, Mirfa Watersports Festival, Qasr Al Hosn Festival and now I came to the heritage festival in Al Wathba, for the first time.
My sister still lives in Al Ain and it is nice to visit her for a few days, during the Al Wathba festival, but I also miss my friends in Ghayati. Sitting in my tent with my friends, all doing our khouss or saddou, the cloth weaving, having Arabic coffee and sharing our news is the happiest time of the day for me. - Interviewed by Silvia Radan
silvia@khaleejtimes.com 
Street talk is a weekly column to get a glimpse of people's lives in UAE