Handicrafts Bazaar held in  Lattakia

As part of  “Our Products are  Our Future” project,  Al-Batarni traditional Park in Lattakia hosted a handicrafts bazaar which was  organized by  the United Nations Development Program UNDP in Syria in cooperation with  Lattakia and Jableh city councils.

The project, which lasted for 3 months, aimed to support owners of handicraft and heritage professions and provided a set of training courses for twenty beneficiaries with the aim of developing their abilities to manage their professions better , such as marketing, packaging, financial management, networking with various parties, and securing all raw materials, with the aim of marketing their products.

The bazaar included various handicrafts with the participation of a group of craftsmen who presented their products with high craftsmanship, including various professions such as  shells work , wood carving, traditional wood industries, pottery, recycling fabrics and old materials, making purses, toys, tablecloths, and household items, in addition to  decorations works , wood painting, sculpture, and others.

Director of the UNDP Office in the coastal region, Sahar Issa, stressed that  the goal of the UNDP is to support professions, markets, youth, and women breadwinners so that they can improve their living conditions.

Sculptor Maha Yazji stressed to Syriatimes e-newspaper the importance of the bazzar  in highlighting the deep-rooted rich Syrian heritage through the diversity of the works displayed and presenting them  to the new generation in order to preserve and revive ancient heritage professions.

She expressed her happiness at participating in the exhibition through several ceramic works that included plates bearing inscriptions such as the ‘Tree of Life ‘and  pottery works such as jars.

The sculpture pointed out that her  works of wood carving came to highlight the heritage of Ugarit through  ears of wheat, and the harp, as the first musical note was found in Ugarit, as well as  the carving of cuneiform letters.

Participant Ezdihar Darwish showcased her  products of crochet, bags , knitting, carpets and tablecloths made of cotton and wool, which were carefully and skillfully crafted.

She told Syriatimes e-newspaper that she benefited from the free training courses in marketing, which provided her  with a suitable opportunity to participate in the exhibition.

Darwish highlighted  the importance of preserving heritage professions and the necessity of reviving them through exhibitions that constitute a suitable opportunity to market and introduce the traditional  handicrafts.

“We, as participants, consider this exhibition as a platform for marketing and spreading our products  and working to pay attention to the quality of them  in order to compete with Arab and international markets and to contribute  to economic empowerment in light of hard  circumstances that our country is going through due to unjust sanctions imposed” Ezdehar added.