JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – 27 September 2025
Nafisa Shams, a leading Saudi initiative promoting women’s empowerment since 2008, and Community Jameel today launched a programme of traditional craft workshops for women in Jeddah, led by Nesreen Sharara, an artist and alumna of the Jameel House of Traditional Arts in Cairo.
Over four days, ten participants will explore new crafts and end the course by making wood-inlay coasters depicting phases of the moon. The ‘Moon Coaster’ is an exclusive product designed by Nesreen’s Muzhir Studio.
Nafisa Shams will scale production of the coasters for sale throughout Saudi Arabia with the aim of reaching a younger, socially-conscious audience of customers eager to engage with contemporary, purpose-driven, locally-made products.
The Jameel House in Cairo was launched in 2009 by The King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, Community Jameel and the Cultural Development Fund of Egypt.
Its two-year programme in traditional arts includes courses in sacred geometry, observational drawing, colour harmony and decorative floral patterns, and specialised training in ceramics, glass and gypsum, metalwork and woodwork.
As a student at the Jameel House in Cairo, Nesreen mastered techniques like mangour and wood joinery.
Following her graduation in 2018, she founded Muzhir Studio, a brand creating and selling handmade products from Egypt, inspired by heritage and personal stories.
Nafisa Shams empowers Saudi women to balance family responsibilities with professional growth through educational and job creation opportunities.
In 2024, 310 women joined the Nafisa Shams work-from-home programme.
2025 is the Year of Handicrafts in Saudi Arabia and Community Jameel’s Year of Traditional Arts, marking the tenth anniversary of the Jameel House of Traditional Arts in Jeddah, the pioneering centre established by Community Jameel and The King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in 2015.