In the 1970s, when Ronald Awa was just seven years old, he would help to weigh spices and herbs for customers while working on his mother's tiny sari-sari stall.
A popular concept in the Philippines, sari-sari, which loosely translates as ‘different, different’ in English, is a neighbourhood shop that serves the local community with an array of produce.
Customers looking to save money and steer away from the usual supermarket bulk buys can pick up single items or exact measurements of spices and sauces for a fraction of the cost.
Having grown up helping to run his family's sari-sari store, Mr Aaw, 57, said the money generated from the sales helped to pay for his education.
If you need a small amount of vinegar or soy sauce but you don’t want to buy a whole bottle, we can measure out just what you need
Ronald Awa,
Dubai resident
Having lived in Dubai for nearly three decades, he now wants to bring that concept from home to the desert.
“It basically operates as a window store, whereby customers simply make their request at the window before handing over cash for produce,” he said.
“If you need a small amount of vinegar or soy sauce but you don’t want to buy a whole bottle, we can measure out just what you need.
“If you want just one onion or tomato, you can buy just one onion or tomato.
“I’ve been thinking about opening a sari-sari store in Dubai for a long time. It will help out the local Kabayan community, save them money and bring that feeling of home to their doorsteps.”
A twist on tradition
Having worked in human resources for Emirates airline for 28 years, Mr Awa said now feels like the right time to open his own store.
He aims cater to “modern life with a traditional twist”, and is in the process of teaming up with investors to make his dream a reality.
“This isn’t a new concept for the Philippines but it will be something new for Dubai,” he said.
“I will enhance the traditional sari-sari store with a different flavour, a flavour that will serve not just the Filipino community but others too.
“Usually, back home, sari-sari stores have a coffee or barber shop running alongside the store where people can bring their own coffee and sit down and play chess, drafts or billiards.
“It’s a place that really serves the community and brings people together.”
As well as selling small servings of produce such as fruit, vegetables, spices and sauces, the store will sell canned goods.
Customers will be encouraged to directly trade their products with the sari-sari store in return for basic articles, cash or other supplies.
“What is common in the Philippines is that if people have oversupply of food at home like canned goods, they can sell them to us in exchange for cash or another item,” said Mr Awa.
“We also want to encourage people to bring stuff from Philippines that they can sell to us, but that requires the right permits and go-ahead from the authorities here, which I am currently working on getting.
“I’m still looking at how I will price my items because I have to check out what supermarkets are selling similar items for, but some will cost as little as 25 fils, maybe less.”
Sights set on old Dubai
Mr Awa is looking to open his shop in Rigga then, depending on its success, expand to Satwa and Karama where there are big crowds of Filipinos and other nationalities that are familiar with the sari-sari way of life.
He sharing his own accommodation with friends in Bur Dubai. Mr Awa said he is all too familiar with the limited amount of space people have to store things.
His shop will help to cut down on waste and give people the option of saving money and buying exactly what they need at any given time, he said.
No bigger than the size of a room in a house, the sari-sari store will cost about Dh10,000 to fit out and will operate from 3pm to midnight. Mr Awa said he hopes to have his first store up and running within a few months.
“So many people have already come to me telling me how excited they are to see something like this in Dubai,” he said.
“Because this is a store that serves the community and acts as a social spot for the like-minded, I’d love to hear what ideas people have and what they would like to see in the store.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Biography
Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine
Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Favourite drink: Water
Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work
Favourite music: Classical music
Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Match info
Huddersfield Town 0
Chelsea 3
Kante (34'), Jorginho (45' pen), Pedro (80')
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
HOW%20TO%20ACTIVATE%20THE%20GEMINI%20SHORTCUT%20ON%20CHROME%20CANARY
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Schedule:
Friday, January 12: Six fourball matches
Saturday, January 13: Six foursome (alternate shot) matches
Sunday, January 14: 12 singles
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
