KUN0013 4 GEN 0280 KUWAIT /KUNA-KTT6 CUL-JORDAN-PAINTING-EGGS Painting, engraving ostrich eggs becomes profitable for some women in Jordan By Mash'hour Abu Ubaid AMMAN, April 26 (KUNA) -- Ibtisam Al-Uqaili, a young Jordanian woman, spends hours in front of an ostrich egg painting and engraving its shell to bring more money to her family and to improve their living standards. Al-Uqaili and 13 of her peers have taken this profession, which has been created by the ostrich egg art project organized by the Royal Jordanian Society for the Protection of the Environment. Speaking to Kuwait News Agency, Al-Uqaili said that the ostrich eggs used in the project are unfertilized and emptied. The women engrave and paint Jordanian historical landmarks, relics, and drawings that represent Jordanian heritage and the local environment, she said. A simple design could take up to 30 hours of work while a complex design could take 50 hours of work, she added. The women working in the project receive fixed salaries in addition to extra amounts paid for overtime work creating an essential source of income for the women and their families, she said. The project is one of many projects organized by the society that aims to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development by using natural resources found in its six natural reserves which are spread out in different areas in Jordan. Products that represent the local environment has attracted tourists and citizens in great numbers making the royal society concentrate on projects of handicraft such as pottery, straw products, leather, dates and soap, a step that has encouraged environmental tourism in the area. (end) ab.bn KUNA 261112 Apr 05NNNN