Handicrafts need support

Al-Faisal inaugurated a three-day forum for productive families here Saturday night and urged the public and private sectors to extend all-out support for the promotion of handicrafts and cottage industries in the country.
“I am sure these small-scale home-based industries can play a big role in boosting the national economy,” the governor told the opening session after touring an exhibition of handicrafts and cottage industries that was staged on the sidelines of the forum.
Social Affairs Minister Yousuf Al-Othaimeen, who attended the opening, said his ministry has launched a training program for craftswomen, adding that the program would cost SR55 million annually. “We are coordinating with a number of charitable organizations to train women on a variety of handicrafts,” the minister said. Productive families can contribute to industrial and commercial development, he pointed out.
Saleh Kamil, chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, emphasized his chamber’s efforts to convince decision makers in the public and private sectors to shoulder their responsibility toward productive families.
“Many companies consider social responsibility as a financial burden. But actually it’s a real investment for them,” he said. The national strategy and the five-year plan to develop handicrafts and cottage industries would improve the condition of productive families in the Kingdom, he added.
Kamil expressed happiness over the good cooperation between the public and private sectors to support such families.
Ulfat Al-Qabbani, a pioneer in implementing social responsibility and productive family initiatives, said the new national strategy would contribute to promoting the handicrafts and cottage industries in the Kingdom.“The strategy will help the Kingdom transform into a productive society from a consumer society. It will also lead to diversification of resources and creation of more jobs for the various groups of society,” she said.
Abdulkareem Abu Alnasr, CEO of NCB, reiterated his bank’s support for productive families and cottage industries and pledged to develop a number of initiatives in this respect.