:: Bawabet Al-Sharq - About Us ::

Oriental Gate

As you gaze into our world, you will find the traditional values of the Arabian desert and village embroidered into every fashionable item we design and create. Bawabet Al-Sharq is committed to revitalising the design of Jordanian handicrafts. And part of this commitment entails fusing the wisdom of tradition with the needs of contemporary life. So, if you are looking for traditional wares or fashion-conscious accessories, step into our entrepot where the Orient and the Occident meet.

Since 1998, Bawabet Al-Sharq has designed and commissioned traditional handmade garments, accessories and artefacts from local women's groups in Jordan. Bawabet Al-Sharq was established by one of Jordan's young business leaders, Randa Qubti, in 1998. Randa noticed an opportunity to connect local women's co-operatives with both the local and international market for handicrafts. Thus, she found a way of developing Jordan's traditional handicrafts, which remains an important part of folklore, whilst supporting local initiatives to reduce poverty in some of Jordan's villages.

Bawabet Al-Sharq represents a gateway between the traditional and the modern, the local and the international. Our mission is simple: to share the beauty, wisdom and art of our heritage with a worldwide clientele. By doing so, we also aim to empower local communities through self-sustaining projects.

Why Bawabet Al-Sharq?

In a world where fierce competition shapes our livelihoods, Bawabet Al-Sharq offers time for a few moments of repose and recollection. With our customised designs and traditional service, our customers can escape to a place where time itself is without cost, and where they can find harmony in environment friendly products.

We serve the traditional customer whose range varies from elegant evening ware to household items such as table cloths, cushions and bathroom sets.
We are also in touch with the fashion-conscious, and our broad range of fashion bags, make-up bags, and purses adorn Jordan's cognoscenti.
We offer a distinctive service to both individual and commercial customers, as we hold the capacity to create new designs according to our customers' needs.
Guaranteed quality and an attentive aftercare service.
Very competitive and fair prices, with the guarantee that local women's group are the recipients of a fair-trade policy.
Quite simply, because it feels good. Buying a product that is not only beautiful, handmade and original, but one that will help empower women's groups and alleviate poverty feels good.

Our full range of products can be found at the The Bawabet Al-Sharq shop in Rainbow Street, Jabal Amman, First Circle (tel/fax: 06 463 7424).

Alternatively, you can find our products at Queen Alia International Airport Duty Free shop, and the Intercontinental, Marriot, Hyatt, Sofitel (Ma'in), Movenpick (Dead Sea, Petra), Dead Sea Spa (Dead Sea) Hotels. Also in Al-Aydi, Kan Zaman, Taybet Zaman (Petra), and Haret al-Jadoudna (Madaba).

The Producers

As part of our policy, we train local women's co-operatives, who are living and working in some of Jordan's poorer villages, to help design, sew and embroider our products. Bawabet Al-Sharq supplies the basic materials, and then the co-operative produces the merchandise. In turn, Bawabet Al-Sharq then purchases the merchandise from the co-operatives at a fair price.

With every new season, we teach the women of the co-operatives new skills, so they can continue to produce traditional handicrafts that attract the modern eye.

Currently, we are working in Ajlun, Karak, Deir Al'a, and a range of small villages in and around Amman.