SANA'A March 16. 2023 (Saba)- In order to develop the local product and achieve self-sufficiency, Tahrir Square in the capital Sana’a hosts every Thursday a market for various types of products and high-quality goods made with pure Yemeni hands.
Despite its modernity and small size, Thursday market for productive families remains a sign of hope and a destination for most productive families to achieve their goals represented in marketing their local products and what the bountiful Yemeni land offers.
The market represents a lively gathering to display various, unique local products and industries that constitute a creative painting that combines the nobility of the past, the spirit of the present and embodies the Yemeni identity, including perfumes, incense, detergents, juices, pickles, clothes, accessories, and women's bags.
The market also displays the finest types of coffee, dates, municipal ghee, compound flour, pastries, sweets, and all products made from local raw materials.
The market is not limited to pavilions of commodities and food products, but also includes museums of handicrafts designed with fine taste and high craftsmanship and with fingers that adore heritage, to embody the strength of creativity and distinction that is unique to the Yemeni handicraft industries, which represent a symbol of glorious history and ancient civilization.
Despite its limitations, khamis market tells an aspect of Yemeni steadfastness and struggle for a decent life under exceptional circumstances and a difficult economic situation imposed by aggression and blockade.
The market is an important economic tributary to provide part of the needs and requirements of the local consumer through locally made products and commodities that are superior in quality to those of imported commodities and products. But it still suffers from some lack of interest by the competent authorities, and weak promotional aspects.
Despite the challenges and obstacles that afflict the mechanism of supporting productive families, it is hoped that these families will be supported and encouraged by the concerned authorities, and that a permanent market will be allocated for them in the capital’s secretariat. These are simple and legitimate demands, but they are like a dream for many productive families who have multiplied Years of aggression and blockade from its suffering.
High hopes and demands for official approval to create a permanent market for productive families to enable them to continue and expand their productive activities that support the local economy, instead of remaining a burden on others.
The local product is the nucleus of the national economy:
Omar Al-Akwa, one of the producers of detergents, soaps, shampoos and local oils, explained that he gained his experience from Syrian experts and became a practitioner of this profession, which enables him to earn a little money to support his family.
Al-Akwa considered the market an opportunity for productive families to enable them to display and sell their products and benefit from the proceeds in providing their living needs and expanding their activities, noting that the market enabled him to promote his products, and those products have become customers who are keen to acquire them whenever they visit the market at the end of each week.
Al-Akwa stated that the main obstacles facing the development of local industries or products are the lack of regular availability of raw materials, as well as price fluctuations.
He added, "We send a message through you to all the media with interest and contribute to promoting the local product because it is the nucleus of the national economy."
Local raw materials comparable to the quality of imported:
While the journalist, Mohamed Salih Hatem, considered the Alkhamis market one of the most important local markets that support productive families, which have increased recently as a result of the conditions of aggression and siege, in the context of searching for new sources of income, whether through opening shops, or making pastries, sweets and embroideries, as well as the manufacture of fabrics and bags, which are a great opportunity for most productive families.
Compound flour nutritional and health benefits:
While we were touring the Alkhamis market accompanied by the lens of (Saba), our attention was drawn to the gathering of many shoppers and consumers in one of the corners of the market, which turned out to be displaying products of the Qanwan Foundation, of which our lens documented scenes and snapshots of them.
Najla Saber, responsible for the establishment’s point of sale, confirmed that the secret of the demand for the foundation’s products is due to the level of quality that it enjoys because it is concentrated and made up of compound flour, which is a mixture of municipal wheat with a group of municipal sorghum crops and a small percentage of flour, all of which are local products with special Nutritional and healthy value.
She said, "We have a group of other varieties of pure corn (baladi) other than the compound or mixed flour, such as maize, roomi, millet, yellow and red corn, barley and sorghum. We are trying to supply the market with these products, leading to self-sufficiency and dispensing with other imported products. We also use animal butter instead. of imported hybrid oils.
Finding a permanent market for productive families is a basic requirement:
This is confirmed by handicraft designer Wafaa Mubarak, who holds a certificate of excellence from WAM Organization, as a distinguished businesswoman, who displays her handicrafts in the Thursday market only, as it is the only market that allows her to display her products of accessories that she excels in designing with high skill and experience that meets the desire and taste of the consumer.
"We stay at home waiting impatiently for Alkhamis market to market our products for a small profit margin, and sometimes we don't even get the transportation costs back home," she said.
Hadrami and Socotra farms and fields products:
Muhammad al-Hadrami, the owner of honey, dates and ghee products, confirmed that he provides most of his products from his farms in Hadramout and Socotra, which provide his customers with the best and finest types of Do'ani honey, which is very popular with consumers.
And he indicated that he achieves appropriate gains and remunerative profits from his sales of honey, ghee and dates, which he displays in the Thursday market for productive families over the past four years.
He pointed out that he used to export his products in the past, but Alkhamis market for productive families has become a promotional opportunity to display his products and sell them locally instead of exporting them.
Difficulties and obstacles:
According to Yousra Al-Mutaa, the official in charge of managing Alkhamis Market, the market has provided a space for displaying local products, especially productive families, and is working to encourage and motivate them to produce.
She pointed out that there is a great demand and increase for productive families to display their products in the market, to the extent that coordination is taking place between producers to display their products alternately between families, due to the lack of places, due to the narrowness of the market.
Productive families need a wholesale market:
In this regard, the head of the Cooperative Union for Clothing, Textiles and Productive Families, Muhammad Hassan Hamid, demanded the provision of a suitable plot of land close to the wholesale markets in Bab al-Salam, Bab al-Yemen, or Khawlan Street, so that the private sector and members collect sums of money and contributions for the market project and build shops in the wholesale market. permanent.
Hamid stated that the Cooperative Union for Apparel and Textiles and Productive Families organizes festivals and activities from time to time to support productive families, and there is a tendency to develop this support through the establishment of a permanent wholesale market.
Local products are the nucleus of international projects and brands:
The head of the Yemeni Society for the Protection and Encouragement of Local Production, Walid Al-Hadi, believes that the difficult economic conditions the country is going through as a result of the continuation of the aggression and the blockade have prompted many poor families to rely on their own capabilities and learn new crafts that meet their daily needs of food, clothing and rent, such as the food industry. Such as sweets, baked goods, detergents, antiques, gifts, clothing, etc.
He pointed out that what distinguishes these families is that they have high capabilities to produce competitive items for the importer, but they were suffering until recently from the lack of a suitable mechanism to display their local products to the public.
He pointed out the possibility that these products that are displayed in Alkhamis market could be the nucleus of giant companies in the future that support the national economy and provide thousands of job opportunities, indicating that these simple products that are manufactured in homes are able to grow and become international brands that reach all parts of the world, if available. Will, care and encouragement.
And the president of the association expressed his hope that the government and businessmen would adopt small industries and market them abroad in professional ways to benefit from them so that the benefit prevails for all parties.
He added, "We have the best example in the experience of Southeast Asian countries, where electronic devices were manufactured randomly and in primitive ways until the state adopted, supported and exported these industries, and those small manufactured shops turned into giant transcontinental companies."
J.A
resource : SABA
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