Teiji Fujimoto trains Rafeea Mohammed in the Japanese way of making incense at Al Wahda Mall in the capital on Feb 5. Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National
Teiji Fujimoto trains Rafeea Mohammed in the Japanese way of making incense at Al Wahda Mall in the capital on Feb 5. Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National

Emirati artisans learn the Japanese way to make incense



In a fragrant room filled with cookie cutters, pipettes and scales, the precision of Shoyeido Incense Company from Japan taught Emirati women how to drive innovation into their homemade bukhour or incense.

For the women, a workshop on the craft passed down by their grandmothers did not make much sense at the beginning. After all, they are experienced in the way bukhour is made, and they have their customers.

Seven giggling women were incredulous about having to use pipettes and scales - "we have this room converted to a laboratory", remarked one - to enthusiastic thumping of a paste of fragrance powders and perfume oils in mortar and pestle and then by red-stained hands.

Ranging in age from 36 to 60, the Abu Dhabi women also showed off Arabic perfume oils as part of a three-day workshop last week at the offices of Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development in Abu Dhabi.

In between instructions, they dabbed thick musk or saffron oils on their trainer's wrist.

Because of language issues, they could not communicate directly to each other, except by showing their appreciation of an age-old craft.

"In the UAE there is already a great fragrance culture, so I can't teach them anything," says Teiji Fujimoto, the trainer from Shoyeido Incense. "I want to learn from them."

Mr Fujimoto's family founded the company in 1705, and his uncle is its 14th president.

He did bring something new to the table - joss powder, colours and shapes - that the women can add to the black balls of bukhour they now make in their kitchens.

With the help of a translator, Mr Fujimoto went about describing how the women can use red, pink, green and yellow food colouring.

He also showed how cookie cutters sourced from the local supermarkets can make star and heart-shaped bukhour. From Japan, he flew in wood stamps and 30 kilograms of joss powder, which acts as a cementing agent for sandalwood, agarwood and camphor powders.

"I knew Arabic people use rose and jasmine oils and agarwood," he says. "In Japan we use the same materials, but the fragrance is very different as the recipes are very different."

Japanese incense often includes such ingredients as cinnamon, sandalwood, patchouli, frankincense, root of a Chinese grass, cloves, and seashell from Africa.

Mr Fujimoto asked the Emirati women to carefully measure agarwood, frankincense and musk powder along with 10 drops of their preference of perfume oil and rose water along with joss powder. In the first trial the smell was too strong for his nose. "We need to reduce frankincense and add more oil," Mr Fujimoto said.

So what did the women feel about the experiment?

Rafeea Mohammed, 60, has been making bukhour for 15 years. She uses a perfume oil, oudh powder and musk powder, far fewer ingredients than the Japanese incense. Ms Mohammed was intrigued by the use of joss powder. She thinks the new colour and shapes might make the bukhour popular among the young people.

"It does not burn quickly," she says of the incense she made during the workshop. "I will test it at home, how soft is it, whether it burns quickly or not, and then sell."

A 20-piece box of her bukhour can sell for Dh250 (US$68).

The training was the first project for Japan's Organisation for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation in the UAE.

"The scale and volume of the [local incense] industry is small but it is very meaningful because Khalifa Fund executives told us that women in Abu Dhabi wanted to earn money from their micro businesses," says Takeshi Mizuno, the manager of the Tokyo-based organisation.

In Japan, known for the likes of Mitsubishi and Toyota, small to medium-sized businesses comprise 99 per cent of all businesses, according to a 2010 Economist Intelligence Unit report. And the sector employs 69 per cent of the population.

The local bukhour market is dominated by homemade products, and a handful of companies.

"I was surprised how people here love fragrance," Mr Fujimoto, 33, says. "In Japan these are for old people. He everyone likes it, and that was very attractive for me."

Bawaal%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nitesh%20Tiwari%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Varun%20Dhawan%2C%20Janhvi%20Kapoor%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Audi Q5/SQ5

Price, base: Dh183,900 / Dh249,000
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder /  3.0L, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic / Eight-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,000rpm / 354hp @ 5,400rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,600rpm / 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy: combined 7.2L / 100km / 8.3L / 100km

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The biog

Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981

Profession: Driver

Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)

Favourite drink: chai karak

Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”

All%20The%20Light%20We%20Cannot%20See%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5