BENVENUTO IN GIORDANIA

Amman - Nel quartiere trendy di Jabal Amman, nell'ambito di un progetto della Società per lo Sviluppo e la Riabilitazione delle Donne nelle Aree Rurali è stato avviato un laboratorio di creazione e vendita di moda tutta ispirata ai costumi tradizionali giordani.

Gli abiti sono creati dalle oltre 500 donne che risiedono in tutto il Regno e che sono attualmemente coinvolte nel progetto dalla Società che vanta ormai 20 anni di esperienza e che ha finora dato impiego ad oltre 2000 persone.

Alla base delle creazioni non solo l'ispirazione degli abiti Beduini, ma una lunga ricerca storiografica che ha permesso di disegnare abiti ispirati ai Nabatei, agli Umayyadi e agli Antichi Romani, popoli che hanno fatto la storia di questa nazione.




THE JORDAN TIMES

Traditional colours, fashions to be presented as tourist products
By Taylor Luck

AMMAN - Colours and fashions from the Kingdom’s past and present will soon be presented as a tourist product in a new showroom in Jabal Amman.

The USAID-Jordan Tourism Development Project (JTDP) on Monday extended a grant to the Society for the Development and Rehabilitation of Rural Women (SDRRW) to open the showroom and market products made by women across the country.

The society, which previously sold items exclusively from its workshop in a residential neighbourhood in the capital, will use the grant to open the showroom near the shopping hub of Rainbow Street, according to USAID-JTDP officials.

The society was founded 20 years ago to assist rural women and preserve the Kingdom’s cultural heritage, according to its president, Seeta Al Hadeed.

“Our grandparents and great grandparents had such beautiful clothes and traditions. It’s up to us to make sure that we do not lose this aspect of our culture,” Hadeed told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of the grant signing ceremony on Monday, which included a fashion show.

The society aims to preserve the cultural heritage of the country by encouraging and developing weaving among other skills. Through intensive research, it has designed garments based on dresses from the Nabataean, Roman, Umayyad and modern periods, and also carries a range of products including teas, herbs, scarves and carpets.

Hadeed pointed out that the society revived traditional influences in modern styles to suit today’s needs and accepts tailor-made orders, including ornate wedding dresses.

The society currently operates several centres in areas across the country, including Deir Yousef, in Irbid Governorate, Balaama in Mafraq, Shobak, Maan, Wadi Musa, and Muqablein, and reaches out to women in villages.

Over 2,000 women have benefited from the project, which currently employs over 500 women through various projects who work from their homes.

“We want Jordanian women to have the chance to develop their skills and develop themselves,” she said.
USAID-JTDP chief-of-party Ibrahim Osta said the grant seeks to ensure that local residents benefit from tourism development.

“These are places off the beaten path,” he noted, pointing out that the society’s new showroom will enable rural women from across the Kingdom to reach Amman and the rest of the world.

“This ensures the benefits trickle down to local women while creating yet another authentic experience for tourists looking to learn about the Kingdom’s heritage,” Osta added.

In addition to providing education and vocational skills, Hadeed expressed hope to expand the society to include domestic farming, poultry farming and home catering services to boost Jordanian women’s income and spur development in the concerned areas.

During the grant-signing ceremony on Monday, USAID Jordan Mission Director Jay Knott praised the society for its role in local development.

“These women are able to earn an income to contribute to their households by working on the beautiful, handmade dresses,” he said.

Last month, the USAID-JTDP helped the society feature on a TV show called “Mashaweer” on an Abu Dhabi channel. Since then, the society’s orders increased “sharply”, according to Osta.

In addition to the grant, the project will continue to facilitate training programmes for the society on business administration, marketing, product development and how to better target the tourist market and enhance its reach in the local market. Their website, www.sdrrw.org.jo, will also be upgraded to receive orders from anywhere in the world, according to the USAID-JTDP.

10 March 2010