OMANI HERITAGE GALLERY - HISTORY

• Since 1995 OHG has sold over RO 320,000 worth of products on behalf of Oman’s craft communities.
• OHG has an Omanisation level approaching 80%.
• OHG is presently providing opportunities for over 200 artisans in all regions of the country, and has stimulated activity among hundreds of other artisans working in kind.
• On the basis of its development activities and philosophy, OHG was the first organisation in the Middle East to pass the stringent social and economic evaluation necessary to be awarded ‘Fair Trade Status’ by Body Shop International. This allows for Omani craft products such as pottery and basketry to be used for the packaging of Body Shop products, and sold throughout the Gulf region.
• In 1999 OHG was a finalist for the Oman Awards of Excellence, Tourism Venture of the Year in recognition of its work in linking traditional crafts communities with the expanding tourist market.
• OHG has received international recognition for its activities, with coverage by CNN, a special business report by the BBC World Service and numerous articles in magazines and newspapers. During its 9 years of operation, OHG has been visited by many visiting dignitaries such as King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan prior to his becoming King. During the 1999 visit to Oman by US President Clinton, OHG was one of only two sites selected for visits by members of the President’s family and his entourage. Due to the nature of our work OHG has been visited by several official delegations whose work is similar to ours.
• In 2000, and in support of the work of OHG, the US Embassy in Oman sponsored a study tour of the United States for one of the founding members in order to learn from the experience of similar organisations with proven track records in the area of craft development.
• OHG has actively participated in the Omani Forts and Castles Development Project under the auspices of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Department of Tourism, in order to represent the interests of artisans and ensure that they are included in the planning of this project.
• OHG has been instrumental in the revitalization of a number of craft industries which were in imminent danger of dying out through a lack of opportunity for artisans. These artisans all form a wellspring of talent which ultimately enriches the tourists’ experience of Oman.
• In May 2001 OHG was awarded a grant of US$18,000 for a project to revitalize the craft of indigo cultivation and dyeing. The grant, awarded as part of the United States Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Development, recognizes OHG as a suitable recipient of donor funding for development work. The project was a complete success, and indigo production and dyeing has now resumed in Nizwa and Bahla respectively.
• In March 2003 OHG was recognized by the Council of Ministers as a uniquely capable development organisation in Oman, and funding was allocated to support 25 new development projects over 3 years based on the successful model of the 2001 indigo revitalization project.
• In March 2003 OHG opened a new retail outlet in Nizwa Fort in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Forts and Castles Development Project.
• In October 2003, OHG submitted a paper to the UNESCO Forum on Heritage on the Omani Indigo Revitalisation Project and how sustainable development can be linked to the tourism industry.
• In 2004 OHG commenced exporting to the UK, to Liberty’s of London and The Mill House and Dubai Duty Free.
• In January 2005 OHG was selected to supply a substantial quantity of craft items to the Smithsonian Institution Folkloric Life Festival on the Mall in Washington DC.