Crafts carry unique value in the Sultanate of Oman due to people’s love for tradition even in the millennium. In the Sultanate of Oman there are many crafts on which the artisans work and come out with beautiful handmade or semi-handmade products.
They have wide range to work on. From daggers to swords, leather, textiles, carpets, weaving, pottery, incense making, palm leaves products, copper and silver crafts can easily be found in markets done by the local artisans.
They also have expertise in making incense burners, rose water distillation and frankincense harvesting.
The list can go on, but the fact is there are dedicated men and women who have been practising craft-making from generation to generation. Today their primary exposure to the public is mainly through exhibitions.
Earlier, the artisans were producing those products on a very small scale, may be for the consumption of a village or a tribe. Then they were not quality conscious as well. Today crafts making industry has taken proper shape with due support from authorities.
Credit goes to Mona Ritchie founded the Omani Heritage Gallery way back in 1995. “Believing in the craft industry of the Sultanate of Oman and the support the artisans and craftsmen needed, and to promote and find a market of Omani crafts that are made by Omani hands.”
“The venture started through Marcia Dorr and Neil Richardson, who were commissioned to do studies on the handicraft industry in Oman’’, said Mona.
She thought of venturing into Omani crafts. In her comments to Observer, she said: “I perceived lack of cohesive sustainability for the crafts of Oman. Some organisations were selling them with no idea of quality control or even what the market needed. Most importantly, there was no feedback to the artisans.”
She was successful in networking for the craftspeople and worked on it for several years.
She strongly feels that the craftspeople should become proper entrepreneurs and suggests “the craftsmen need some exposure of training and market even though they are selling their products through social media tools.”
She advocates for a proper marketing channel for the craftsmen in the Sultanate of Oman as well outside the country through export channels.
@lakshmioman
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