AMMAN (JT) -- The Jordan River Foundation (JRF) has inaugurated its 11th Annual Handicrafts Exhibition with the participation of 700 women from the foundation's handicraft projects.
The two-week exhibition, entitled "Harmony," features designs inspired by oriental "henna" patterns and natural elements used in mosaic drawings.
The handicrafts on display are produced by beneficiaries of the Bani Hamida Women's Weaving Project, the Wadi Al Rayan Project and the Jordan River Designs Project.
These projects were established for women from underprivileged and isolated communities to produce handicrafts as a means of making a living.
The annual exhibition tours the world to market and sustain the JRF's income-generating projects, and provide income for the beneficiaries and their families. Previous tours have included Dubai, Athens, Paris and London the renowned Harrods department store in London.
The income-generating handicraft projects fall under the auspices of the Community Empowerment Programme (CEP), exemplifying JRF's commitment to sustainable human development through empowering communities to participate in their own economic opportunities and improving their livelihoods.
Over 2000 families have benefited directly from CEP's income-generating projects alone since its inception in 1995.
Held under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania, the exhibition represents the cultural traditions of Jordanian heritage.
The three main collections on display are the "Henna," "Natural Elements" and "Mind, Body & Spirit" collections.
Throughout the years, JRF has also provided support services such as design, marketing and quality control. This year, a competition was held in JRF's production centres to encourage the women themselves to produced designs of their own. The chosen designs are on display at the "Harmony" exhibition.
This year's exhibition will be displayed at the Khalid Shoman Foundation-Darat Al Funun for the coming two weeks.
The main sponsors of the event are Vacheron Constantin and Abu Shakra.
© Jordan Times 2006
