Umm Hamad’s passion for mastering the art of Oud

It all began 10 years ago. Umm Hamad was chasing her dream of creating an oud that soothed her heart. After several experiments she got the right mix that stood out from the rest. But it was her husband’s death that converted her passion into a business, Asmaa Al Hameli writes

Umm Hamad holding one of her popular perfumes, Saif, which is named after her late husband. Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National

Even from a distance you cannot miss the aroma of perfumed oud wafting from the home of Saada Al Shkeili. It leads visitors to her doorstep, dispelling any bad feelings on the way.

What is now an international business started 10 years ago with a suggestion from her husband, after she complained that it was difficult to find a signature oud that matched her personality.

“I never found an oud that actually soothed my heart,” says Mrs Al Shkeili, better known as Umm Hamad.

It was then she decided to take her husband’s advice and create her own distinctive scent. She went to the souq and bought a large quantity of plain oud wood.

Little did she know that making her own oud was the first step towards becoming an entrepreneur. She began with two types of fragrances, Arabian and French.

“I bought many perfumes and some other secret ingredients to make the oud smell the way I wanted,” says the mother of six, from Al Ain. “The final outcome was a success.”

The first to test her new products were family and friends. Their positive feedback made Umm Hamad more determined to immerse herself in the field, discovering her new skills. In those days, she had no plans to sell her perfumes to customers. She simply wanted to create new fragrances.

But life had other plans. At the peak of her perfume-making experiments, she lost her husband. Suddenly she had no choice but to expand her home-made business to a bigger audience.

Today she has customers from Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and as far as the Philippines. The enthusiasm from customers has encouraged her to expand the product line into other categories, including perfumed frankincense and small bottled perfumes.

To the untrained eye, oud might seem like pieces of wood, but for Umm Hamad, 38, the sight of it brings peace and tranquillity to her heart.

Relaxing at her home, where she makes and sells all her oud, and surrounded by her three daughters, Umm Hamad clears her throat before explaining her creations.

“This is Moza,” she says while holding up a bottle.

“It’s named after my close companion, who has been a great supporter of my business.

“This is Al Anood, named after my eldest daughter,” she says. There is one particular oud that customers seem to take to their hearts – Saif Saada. This is her best-selling line. “Saif is my husband and Saada is me,” she says with a smile.

In every Emirati home, oud is burnt at least once a week, especially on Fridays. It is a sign of hospitality and respect to guests.

In Umm Hamad’s case, she burns it every day, sometimes every other hour, for the love she bears for it.

Like any other business, Umm Hamad had competitors. In the past few years an explosion of small businesses has arisen, but Umm Hamad is confident that she has something special to offer.

“There are many types of oud in the souq, but many times they all smell alike with slight difference,” she says. What distinguishes her oud from others in the market is her meticulous selection of the “right” perfume.

“Anyone can make perfumed oud, but not anyone can master it. The secret is in the perfume, not oud,” she explains.

“I have six children to raise and the cost of living is rocketing, so I had to find alternative ways to fulfil my children’s needs,” she says. “Thank God, many people tell me that I have a good taste when selecting the right perfume.”

Many men and women of all ages prefer oud over perfumes. One of the main reasons is practicality. Oud just involves burning and filling the air with its smell, whereas perfumes can leave a stain on men’s kanduras.

Competition is fierce. In UAE malls it is hard to get away from the overpowering aroma of oud, with shop assistants trying to persuade customers to step inside and try their products.

Some of the biggest names in western luxury brands are targeting Arabian Gulf customers with products inspired by the oud fragrance.

Brands such as Gucci, Tom Ford, Dior and Armani have included a touch of oud in their perfume collections.

Still, even if most people like the smell of oud, not everyone can afford it. In the malls, a small jar of the most expensive oud can cost several thousand dirhams. The price for a kilo can reach Dh30,000. Umm Hamad has a solution. “My product varies in size,” she says. Compared with the souq price, Umm Hamad says her price seems reasonable.

“The most expensive oud I have costs about Dh185,” she says. “Sometimes I have customers with less income asking for further reduction.”

Umm Hessa is a frequent customer of Umm Hamad. She buys from two other oud makers too, but “Umm Hamad tops them all”.

“What I like about her product is that it is long-lasting,” says Umm Hessa, a laboratory assistant at Al Nahyania School in Al Ain. “The smell doesn’t vanish after two or three hours. Even my brothers use them because the smell is extremely pleasant.”

Once she filled the laboratory with a perfume she bought from Umm Hamad and her colleagues found the smell refreshing, she recalls. “When people ask me about good oud sellers, I always recommend Umm Hamad,” she says.

The practice of burning perfumed wood has been around for thousands of years says Dr Hassan Al Naboodah, a historian at UAE University. “Bukhoor, which is a mixture of various scents, was around during the days of the pharaohs. It was also used in temples and churches because it was believed the incense had the power to drive away evil spirits.”

Even today, some Muslims believe that frankincense, also known as olibanum, has the power to cast out Djinn. “Even though the Islamic faith might not agree with this notion, the belief is still there,” says Dr Al Naboodah.

Through trade, the use of bukhoor and frankincense soon spread across the Arabian Peninsula and Mesopotamia. Sheba, today known as Yemen, became a key supplier of frankincense. The Queen of Sheba – Balqees – had the biggest stock.

“Today the petrol is the great source of wealth. In that era, Bukhoor and frankincense was theirs,” says Dr Naboodah.

“At one point, the Europeans were amazed by frankincense so they bought a huge amount,” says Dr Al Naboodah. So great was the demand that Queen Balqees began to take it, creating an entire bureaucracy with rules about selling frankincense.

There are also health benefits from burning frankincense. It is proven that frankincense kills germs and microbes leaving the environment pure, he says.

“The concept of smelling good is a shared culture in the Middle East,” he says. “The aroma of oud inspires a good feeling.”