The 20th edition of the Carpet & Art Oasis recorded Dh6 million ($1.6 million) in sales over its first week, with a total value of 6 – the total value of 614 handcrafted carpets that were sold.

The event is showcasing more than 220,000 carpets worth nearly Dh2 billion, the Oasis has seen 4,000 visitors in the first week.

Abdul Hakeem Al Neaimi, vice chairman of the Carpet & Art Oasis organizing committee, said that a Handcrafted Carpets Museum is incorporated in the Oasis’s attractions this year to mark the Oasis’s 20th anniversary. The museum displays 44 rare rugs of historical value, estimated at Dh140 million.

For the first time ever, the show is exhibiting ‘Al Mahmal Al Shami’, a ceremonial palanquin carried on a camel which was the centrepiece of the pilgrim caravan to Makkah. The Mahmal, decorated by its accessories, has the stamp of Sultan Abdul Hamid Khan and dates back to 1311 Hijri (1894 AD), said a statement.

A prominent participant in the Oasis is the Sheikha Fatema bint Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Initiative (FBMI).

Walied Jabarkhyl, FBMI’s executive director, said: “FBMI is dedicated to alleviating Afghan women’s long-term distress, by providing resources, compassion and the opportunity for impoverished women to free themselves from economic hardship and take a leading role in Afghanistan’s future.”
FBMI’s aim is to create sustainable development by empowering women. The initiative provides women with employment in the carpet production process, an industry they already possess skills in.

It also offers them and their families critical social services in healthcare and education. The result is a holistic effort whose benefits are seen not only in fruitful employment, but also in healthier and happier families and communities.

With 3,000 low income Afghans employed, FBMI has already achieved significant success in helping the people of Afghanistan to help themselves. - TradeArabia News Service