At the “Make in the UAE 2026” Forum and Exhibition, the economy is not limited to services, but rather is based on production and technology. It is a transformation that is inseparable from the past, but rather builds on it. Today’s industrial power is an extension of those hands that made leather, dived into the sea, and created beauty from simplicity, so that the Emirates remains a story to tell, between the fragrant scent of perfume, the hardness of leather, and the sparkle of pearls.
Where life was simpler and more connected to nature, the craft of leather making was born as an art that was passed down from children to parents. It was more than just a career...it was a way of life. In the fifth edition of "Made in the Emirates 2026", and in the "Leather Crafts" pavilion, Emirati women sat who were professionals in working with the skins of camels, sheep, cows, and sometimes deer in ancient times, from which the first Emirati craftsmen fashioned tools that accompanied the details of their day: slippers that protected feet, skins that preserved water, containers for churning ghee, others for preserving dates, and even the bucket that was descended into the depths of wells to return. Life,” one of them told An-Nahar, adding: “These products were more than tools; they were evidence of human skill and ability to adapt.”
According to her, this craft did not remain confined to daily needs, but rather turned into part of the trade movement, when the surplus was exchanged between people, in a scene that reflects the spirit of cooperation and sufficiency.
Smell Memory: Fragrance Library
Close to this memory, a different experience pulsates, where stories are preserved not only in drawers, but in smells. The “Perfume Library” is not a traditional library, but rather a sensory space that carries the scent of the past. Saeed Naimi, curator of the pavilion, told Al-Nahar: “Here, every perfume has a story, and every bottle has a story. The smell of antique leather mixes with the scent of Emirati mountain roses, to create an aromatic identity that conveys the spirit of the place to the world.”
In this library, multiple cultures from more than 13 countries converge, but the Emirati imprint remains clear. Among the distinctive collections, the “Dara Perfume” stands out, extracted from the scent of dates, and kept inside a box containing the “Dara” or compass. It is as if the perfume does not only tell a story, but also depicts the journey of the sailors who carried dates across the seas, leaving behind a trail of scent and memories.
Pearls of courage and patience
From land to sea, to the exhibition's marine crafts pavilion, the picture is complete. There, where pearl diving was a profession that required courage and patience, men lived for long months facing the unknown. From dawn until dusk, they dived in search of oysters, opening them with the hope of finding a rare “dana” that would change their fate. The journey was not easy, and was full of dangers, but it formed the backbone of the economy and source of livelihood.
The diver was not alone on this journey, but rather it was an integrated system: the merchant who secretly buys the pearls, and the jeweler who gives the pearl its last luster. Between this and that, marine songs were getting louder, relieving fatigue and strengthening resolve, in a time when only will was a companion.
Despite the harshness of those days, these professions remain alive in memory, told in museums and taught in workshops, to remind generations that what they are experiencing today is an extension of yesterday’s struggle. In the present, the story takes a new direction.
Arab Federation for Leather Industries
International Arab Organization
