Al Bayan – Abdullah Ahmed Mohamed Al Shahi from Al Rams area, Ras Al Khaimah, believes in the proverb that ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. His wise thought and action enabled him to make use of his skills, simple tools and spare time to make his own home furniture, hence, saving thousands of dirhams that he would have paid to carpenters to make it for him.
Abdullah Al Shahi, 37 years old, is an employee at RAK Registration Center. He says that his understanding of furniture making, painting and other construction works was formed since his early childhood. His father was keen to send him as a child to watch his workers while working in construction, black smith craft, carpentry and painting on different occasions. Since then, he formed his own first vision about handicrafts, the used tools and methodology of work. He then joined the technical school and continued his higher education in the United States within the same field which included a small part on carpentry.
Creativity Door
Al Shahi tells the story of how he started making home furniture when he made a traditional wooden door. He wanted the door to be made at a high level of quality following a traditional artistic vision to go along his home atmosphere that contains a collection of traditional items, documents and antiques that he collects as a hobby. When he asked a carpenter to make the door, the carpenter charged more than 3 thousand dirhams to make it, let alone missing the deadline of the door delivery. Only then, Al Shahi decided to make the door himself after he bought the tools and wood and drew a sketch of the door to realize his vision. After 4 days, he finished making a traditional door that cost less than 900 dirhams including the tools he used in making it.
Positives
Abdullah stresses that there are many positives achieved when a person relies on himself in some of the house chores, such as saving money in more than one way. A home owner is the one that knows best the needs of his place and his family; hence, he is the best to create these needs according to the allocated budget. The same thing applies to recycling old furniture instead of disposing of it. Abdullah made many shelves, desks, tables and closets using old furniture that was scattered around the house.
A Closet of 16 Functions
Al Shahi points out that he has a place at home where he keeps the carpentry and electricity tools. He uses these tools to make what he needs and what the family needs such as the moving closet he made to his mother which covered 16 needs using simple tools and also little money. She can use it to store medicine and her personal items. It has a lighting feature as well as a bell to call the maid, a writing board and many other things that his aging mother may need and find all at the same time in one place moving with her anywhere she goes around the house. She can also simply ring the bell to call the maid or any other person to bring something to her that is out of her reach.
A Call for Work
Abdullah Ahmed advises his fellow citizens to use their spare time in learning and making handicrafts. He stresses that it is an enjoyable pass-time and has many positives especially saving money. Such a hobby can prevent citizens from falling victims to the workers who ask for a lot of money using their customers’ ignorance of these techniques and arts.
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