Now in its second year, Down to Earth, a festival around ecology and sustainability, returns to Jameel Arts Centre from Friday.
The two-day event will include workshops, demonstrations and information stalls for children and adults on topics such as seed-sowing, composting, mini garden arranging, upcycling crafts and living sustainably.
On Friday, a sowing workshop, led by father-daughter duo Jamie Carroll and Amirah Carroll, lets visitors learn about vegetable gardening and discover specific techniques developed by Jamie for the UAE climate. Visitors will also be able to receive newly sown seeds.
There will be a demonstration on aquascaping by Discus.ae, who will showcase the growth of plants in an aquarium setting. The group will also teach visitors how to design a desktop terrarium.
For those into recycling and crafts, Abdulrahman Bucheeri will teach participants how to transform plastic bags into new creations through a plastic yarn crochet workshop. This is ideal for those aged 12 and above.
The second day, Saturday, November 27, will include workshops on observational sketching, and creating your own smudge stick by mixing sage, rosemary, lavender and roses.
A workshop by Tashkeel alum Reem Al Bastaki will show participants how to make flour and salt clay and make impressions with organic materials such as flowers, leaves, oysters and rocks.
During the weekend, a pop-up market called Green Bazaar for indoor and outdoor plants will bring together local businesses to present eco-conscious and sustainable products in time for the holiday season.
For more hands-on demonstrations, the Grow and Tell Zone is available for those who want to learn about gardening, composting and beekeeping.
Meanwhile, those looking to get rid of a few items can look to Faire Trade, a pop-up barter shop that allows visitors to bring pre-loved items to trade in.
A series of discussions titled The Small Talk, organised in collaboration with Soma Mater, a collective concerned with food futures, will present regional specialists who will explore issues of food, policy and impactful living.
Refreshments from Here-O, Salad Jar, Teible, The Ice Cream Shop and Veghana will be served on site. Visitors can also step into the Jameel Arts Centre to see their current exhibitions.
Down to Earth is free and open to the public, and visitors can book their two-hour slot to visit the space on the Jameel Arts Centre website.
More information is available at jameelartscentre.org
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
Persuasion
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The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
