‘Anbalange’ is a traditional room or dwelling built in the southern area of old Maldivian houses. It is a place dedicated for the women of the house - where they can do tasks such as cooking and craftwork while talking and laughing amongst themselves.
With modern times, ‘Anbalange’ no longer exists in our lives and it is this loss that formed the idea of bringing back ‘Anbalange’ with a modern touch. ‘Anbalange’ is now a flourishing startup company with five women at its helm.
Shadheeaa working in Anbalange. -- Photo: Adhadhu
Shadheeaa Adeel Jaleel, Mariyam Ibrahim, Khadeeja Nazwa, Aminath Julaila and Aishath Rifga Azim were learning jewelry making at Maldives Institute of Technology (MIT) when the ‘Anbalange’ idea was born.
As participants of the first batch of the jewelry making course, the five friends had to complete a business module in which they had to submit a business proposal. The name ‘Ambalange’ came up during research for that assignment.
Mariyam Ibrahim and Aishath Rifga Azim working in Anbalange. -- Photo: Adhadhu
With the discovery of traditional ‘Ambalange’ and its purpose, Shadheeaa ‘Shadhee’ had the idea to begin a startup with her four female friends. She made the suggestion after submitting their proposal and all four agreed to join her.
“We learnt how to do presentations during the course. So we made a presentation and got an appointment with the MD of SDFC [SME Development Finance Corporation]. But, we were informed that all the loans were halted for that year,” Shadhee said.
Aminath Julaila working in Anbalange. -- Photo: Adhadhu
Despite being unable to secure a loan to launch the company, the five friends decided to push forward and find their own means to start work. They spent from their own pockets, got help from family members and also found a small building in Male’ for their studio.
But the building was in bad shape. They had to work hard to repair and bring the place in order. ‘Ambalange’ Studio was established in that space one and half years ago.
Now it is one of the fastest growing jewelry companies in the Maldives. Ambalange makes different types of jewelry and their aim is to be the leading brand in authentic Maldivian craftsmanship.
Translated by Saya Ahmed
