AL AIN // If Sarab the camel looks particularly relaxed and content, there's a reason for that.
After a skin cleanse and shampoo with a pine-scented grooming product designed especially for you, what camel wouldn't feel pampered?
"It's a wonderful feeling, they look to you with the long eyelashes," says Birgit Kemphues, the German expatriate businesswoman in Al Ain who created the shampoo and cleanser. "Sometimes they just jump after washing."
Sarab, a retired racing camel, now smells faintly of pine thanks to the extract of German, Russian and Norwegian pine trees used in the grooming product.
"If it's good for humans, why is it not good for camels?" Ms Kemphues says.
"We tried this in an organic way. The camel is an organic thing and it needs organic treatments."
Ms Kemphues was brought up on a farm in north-west Germany but has made Al Ain her second home.
On visits to friends' farms she saw camels were treated with chemicals to cure skin problems or clean their hair.
She sought a solution and paired researchers from UAE University in Al Ain with the University of Applied Science in Osnabruck in Germany to develop a natural shampoo, spray and gel.
It took two years of experimentation with products such as jasmine oil and date extracts before a product was developed using pulp from the core of the pine tree.
"We know that the heart of the pine wood puts all of the sickness and the bad things away from the body," Ms Kemphues says. "It is from experience of the past 1,000 years. It is a kind of protection."
The products are said to reduce harmful bacteria, germs, fungi and parasites.
Beauty supplies have multiplied with the growth of camel beauty contests. A proliferation of shampoos and cosmetics claim to give camels good looks, strong hair and vitality.
"Camels these days are not used like they used to be," said Dr Muhammad Shakeel Ijaz, a vet at the Central Veterinary Hospital in Baniyas. "People are keeping them for beauty and the camels are judged on their beauty so for that reason camels must be groomed properly."
Cosmetic shampoos rid the male camel of pungent, oily secretions on the head that attract females but are less pleasant to humans and competition judges.
Many shampoos do not list their ingredients.
"Camel shampoo smells so chemical," Ms Kemphues said. "It is like when you clean the floor."
Camels may not suffer split ends from blow drying but they do get skin problems such as lice, ticks and mange caused by mites.
Ms Kemphues has folders that document her success stories - balding mounds transformed to soft, downy humps, and so on.
The gel is for insect bites, eczema, wounds and hair loss.
"A lot of girlfriends like to use the camel shampoo," Ms Kemphues said.
A one-litre bottle lasts 40 washes and costs Dh160. Most promotion is done through the majlis.
"People here like to talk," Ms Kemphues said. "They sit in the majlis and talk about the results, so there is no need to make advertising for something like this."
Sultan Al Ketbi, an owner who regularly spends Dh3,000 on his camels for beauty contests, has started to use the shampoo once a week.
"She's not from Germany, she started to be one of the family and learn our traditions," said Mr Al Ketbi. "She brought us all these things, she's helping us. I see the benefits."
For Ms Kemphues, success is in the eyes of the camel.
"When I see a happy animal I get a motivation to do more. Some people who have children say that when a child looks in your eyes you feel happy. It is like this for camels also.
"It is amazing when you think about what camels can do. We had only camels and dates here and they made this country develop. When I do this I feel like I do a good thing for this country."
azacharias@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Previous men's records
- 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
- 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
- 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
- 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
- 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
- 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
- 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
- 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
- 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
- 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Federer's 11 Wimbledon finals
2003 Beat Mark Philippoussis
2004 Beat Andy Roddick
2005 Beat Andy Roddick
2006 Beat Rafael Nadal
2007 Beat Rafael Nadal
2008 Lost to Rafael Nadal
2009 Beat Andy Roddick
2012 Beat Andy Murray
2014 Lost to Novak Djokovic
2015 Lost to Novak Djokovic
2017 Beat Marin Cilic
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Hamilton profile
Age 32
Country United Kingdom
Grands Prix entered 198
Pole positions 67
Wins 57
Podiums 110
Points 2,423
World Championships 3
LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
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UAE%20SQUAD
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
ARGYLLE
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Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
More from Neighbourhood Watch
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.
%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures: Monday, first 50-over match; Wednesday, second 50-over match; Thursday, third 50-over match
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
