The crew of this Abu Dhabi pearling ship were captured by the Canadian photographer, filmmaker and traveller Alain Saint-Hilaire in 1971.
Other than the year, the image is undated, but we know that it must have been taken during the heat of summer because that is when the annual four-month-long pearling season took place.
The crew here includes elghasa, the men who would descend to the pearl banks in search of oysters and elseyob, their equally vital on-board assistants who would pull the shellfish-laden swimmers up from the seabed using ropes.
A new exhibition of contemporary sculpture, Departure, which opened at Warehouse421 in Mina Zayed on Wednesday, also sheds new light on the lives of pearling crews thanks to a series of old photographs and extracts from letters and poems.
The texts, reflections on absence, separation and loss, speak of the intense emotional cost of the pearling season from the perspective of both the divers and their friends and families, who embarked on their own voyage each summer, into the cooler conditions of Abu Dhabi’s interior.
* Nick Leech
Visit www.warhouse421.ae for more details. The exhibition runs until September 28.
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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.
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F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Bio
Age: 25
Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering
Favourite colour: White
Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai
Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.
First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.
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The specs
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Power: 181hp
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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