Hope in their Hands

Lonely Planet review

The National Women's Centre for Development Handicrafts and Hope in their Hands are two nonprofit organisations located inside the same building with the joint aim of increasing the financial independence of Yemeni women. This is done through workshops where the women, who are often widowed or divorced, learn skills such as sewing and weaving. The resulting products are then sold in the two downstairs shops, which together are the best place in San'a to buy souvenirs.

If you're lucky, you might be allowed upstairs to watch the women at work. Even without these centres the building itself, a renovated caravanserai (a traditional storage and lodging house for traders travelling the old trade routes), is worth a visit.