Sarah’s Bag may be a social enterprise, providing jobs for female prisoners and other underprivileged women in Lebanon, but from the beginning its founder, Sarah Beydoun, was adamant she didn’t want “any pity purchases”.
“From day one, I insisted on the aesthetics being the main draw,” she says. “I wanted people to buy the bags because they liked them and if they knew about the cause, that was an extra. I never wanted anyone to think that the social enterprise part of Sarah’s Bag was a marketing tool.”
The brand was conceptualised in 2000 as a social project by Beydoun, who studied sociology and was looking for a way to provide employment and income for women in Lebanon’s prisons. The bags became a way for the incarcerated to learn traditional crafts and develop transferable skills.
For her first exhibition, Beydoun created 120 bags and they sold out immediately. “People were very intrigued,” she says. “Everyone was so curious about what I was doing.”
The project quickly evolved into an enterprise and then a globally recognised, socially responsible brand, long before the term became fashionable. It is notable that when Sarah’s Bag first launched, its designs were often copied, but no one was interested in trying to replicate the social enterprise element of the business. Things have changed since then.
“The first 10 years I worked, a lot of people copied the bags themselves, but nobody was inspired by the concept. Now people are inspired by the concept. The customer is demanding this. They want to consume consciously and put their money in brands they believe in.”
When these women employ other women, they become like entrepreneurs in their villages. And they are highly regarded
Sarah Beydoun,
founder of Sarah's Bag
Over the past two decades, Beydoun has supported hundreds of women, many of whom still work for her. “I still have 10 per cent of my original team from the first day I entered the prisons – more than 20 years later.”
She uses Randa, a woman she worked with in the early days, as an example of how the brand has been able to instigate actual change. “Randa was very shy and had never worked with her hands. But she proved to be very skilled. She worked with us for three years and put all the money aside. Eventually she was able to employ a lawyer and overturn her judgment. She was accused of murdering her husband, but she was able to prove it was not murder.”
Once they leave prison and return to their homes, the woman are able to secure employment with other ateliers, or in some cases continue working for Sarah’s Bag. Because access to the prisons has been restricted in the past 18 months as a result of the pandemic, Beydoun is increasingly reliant on women who have been released and who, in turn, employ other women in their villages to help out.
“When these women employ other women, they become like entrepreneurs in their villages. And they are highly regarded,” Beydoun says. “Instead of being criticised or stigmatised for having been in prison, they start working and employing other women, who look up to them as providers in the village.”
While the aesthetic of Sarah’s Bag is firmly rooted in the Middle East, it is by no means confined to regional motifs. “Every year we come up with new collections and they don’t need to be Middle East inspired, but they always have to feature the crafts we work with,” Beydoun says.
There are collections such as Beirut that pay tribute the city with nostalgic, vintage-looking pictures and typography, or Oriental, which features colourful Moroccan-inspired designs, geometric patterning and Arabic calligraphy. But there are also lines like Afrodisiac, which draws on the distinct colourways and tribal motifs of Africa, or the unashamedly camp Discotheque collection.
Retail Therapy includes new designs with the phrase “Vaccinated and Ready to Mingle” set across pouches that look like little pill boxes, and also features bags with the phrases “Xanaks and the Living Is Easy” and “Prozak Feels Like Heaven Every Day” emblazoned across the front. These have proved both popular and controversial. “We were mocking the system and how it became so easy to access all these things. We got a lot of backlash, but I was personally shocked by how well the collection did.”
The Priceless collection came after the Beirut blast, at a time when we really needed it
Sarah Beydoun
The bags breathe new life into age-old craft techniques that might otherwise fade into obscurity. They come adorned with beading, wood marquetry or specific types of embroidery that are native to the Levant. They also feature smocking, a sewing technique that is no longer commonly used, or crochet, although Beydoun is quick to point out that “it’s not the old-style crochet you see on tablecloths. We use different yarn and different colours. We try to present all these techniques in a new way.”
Today, the brand produces 8,000 to 10,000 bags a year. Beydoun’s most recent project is a collaboration with Mastercard, which includes a collection of bags that will be launched at the end of November and sold exclusively at Expo 2020 Dubai. Some are existing designs in new Mastercard-inspired colourways, while others are entirely new, including some limited-edition pieces crafted from mother-of-pearl. This is a long-term partnership that falls under Mastercard’s commitment to support female-owned small and medium-sized enterprises.
“The Priceless collection came after the Beirut blast, at a time when we really needed it. We needed help and it was a way for me to think, ‘OK, I am going to go back to work and I am going to produce and things are going to be OK.’ It is only when you start working that you start healing and moving forward,” says Beydoun.
“Mastercard was keen to make everyone who works with me part of the collaboration. So we selected bags that different handbag-makers could create. And we chose techniques used by different women.”
As part of the campaign, each bag comes with a card that has a unique QR code printed on it. When that code is scanned, a video will come up, featuring the women Sarah’s Bag works with, talking about their experiences and how their lives have changed as a result of the social enterprise. It’s yet another opportunity for these women to share their stories – women who might, were it not for Beydoun, have remained voiceless.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Directed by: Shaka King
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
Four stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.2-litre, turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Power: 160hp
Torque: 385Nm
Price: Dh116,900
On sale: now
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Full Party in the Park line-up
2pm – Andreah
3pm – Supernovas
4.30pm – The Boxtones
5.30pm – Lighthouse Family
7pm – Step On DJs
8pm – Richard Ashcroft
9.30pm – Chris Wright
10pm – Fatboy Slim
11pm – Hollaphonic
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdited%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Idries%20Trevathan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20240%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hirmer%20Publishers%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Scores in brief:
- New Medical Centre 129-5 in 17 overs bt Zayed Cricket Academy 125-6 in 20 overs.
- William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana 188-8 in 20 overs bt One Stop Tourism 184-8 in 20 overs
- Alubond Tigers 138-7 in 20 overs bt United Bank Limited 132-7 in 20 overs
- Multiplex 142-6 in 17 overs bt Xconcepts Automobili 140 all out in 20 overs
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
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