The Work Begins

It is 06:00 hours, 2nd May 2004, the sun is shining and after a good nights sleep I feel better prepared to start this new adventures, which at the time of writing in November 2008, has lasted four and a half years, with more years to come.

The village is busy, builders are everywhere to be seen under the supervision of the Owners Site Manager.

At this moment in time the following are completed:

• Salha Lbnaya Motel and Reception
• Ten Tradition Houses.
• Ward Wa Hail Restaurant
• Sheesha Corner (Iranian Food Outlet, Mixed Grills, Juices, Coffee, Tea and Sheesha)

More traditional houses are being rebuilt and renovated, the main village swimming pool is also nearing completion as is the Palace of Sheikh Abdullah Al Salim Al Sabah.

As the village was under construction we only had the following staff, a cook, a steward, two waiters, two housemen and a laundryman.

I spent the first week inspecting the village, and then got to work; in early June the Site Manager left and I was also asked to be in charge of construction as well as being the GM.

In mid June I started to hire my executive team, the Village Supervisor Abdulaziz Obaid, who is now my Front Office and Reservations Manager; Abdul Rasoul Rahimi my Chief Engineer and the month was made complete when my Executive Housekeeper arrived (my wife, Denise).

MY EXECUTIVE TEAM

Denise M Hartley BSc. MIH, Executive Housekeeper & Stables Manager

Abdulaziz Obaid, Front Office & Reservations Manager

Abdul Rasoul Rahimi, Chief Engineer

Four and a half years later my executive team are still with me, and this contributed enourmously to the success of the village.

Work moved on, and it seemed that it was like the lines from 'Les Miserables'..."Hard work with no reward, that's the way to please the Lord".

By the end of July we had completed a further 20 traditional houses and the main village swimming pool, we also completed the building of all the staff accommodation.

By the end of October we had completed the Palace of Sheikh 'Abdullah, the new reception and another 19 traditional houses.

"Umm Al Khair"

In November we purchased our first catamaran, the 100 seat 'Umm Al Khair'......at this point let me inform you of the naming of our catamarans and some of the village outlets; the owning company was called Masharee Al Khair, this literally translates to "good projects for poor people", this then becomes "Company of Givers" and as such 'Umm Al Khair' became "Mother of Givers". The actual translation of 'Khair' could be 'Philanthropy'.

One of the Village Streets

In December 2004 after a great deal of hard work the following had been completed and open to guests and day visitors.

• 49 Traditional Houses (with diwaniya, courtyard, kitchenette, between 2 and 6 bedrooms...air conditioning, bathrooms and satellite TV).
• Sheesha Corner
• Ward Wa Haila Restaurant
• Salha Lbnaya Motel.
• Main Reception
• Palace of Sheikh Abdullah Al Salim Al Sabah
• Sweet Shop
• Pickle Shop
• Mini Market
• Multi-Purpose Sports Court.
• Jeep Rentals
• Island Tours
• Landscaped Areas
• Umm Al Khair (catamaran) for carrying our guests and visitors from Marina Crescent in Kuwait to Failaka.
• The Main Village Square.
• Glass Blowing and Pottery Center
• Shopping souk for souvenirs made on the island
• The Farm...Yes we grew our own vegetables and salads.

We also had our main nucleus of supervisors and other staff....who yet again are still with the village to this day.

We were also very lucky to have within our group Mohamed Dashti, a Kuwaiti dhow builder, carpenter and man of all heritage trades; Mohamed organised our glass blowing centre, beleive it or not using all the old seven up bottles left on the island in 1991, a pottery centre, sadu weaving and dhow construction of various sizes.

Sadu Weaver at work in the Village Souk

Model Dhow maker at work in the Village Souk

In October 2004 the Chairman of the Owners when talking to Denise, found out that she was also an accomplished equestrienne. "Denise, why not find some old houses that we can convert to stables at the back of the village, do this and I will send you some horses".

In the middle of November 2004 the stables were completed, and true to his promise the first eight horses arrived.

The stables were to become a labour of love for Denise over the next few years with the addition of more horses and donkey's.......but that's another story that you can read in Chapter 9.

Denise with Safir on Failaka Beach

In summary, 2004 was an industrious year, and at the end of it, all of us felt a great sense of pride in our achievements.......but there was still a long way to go.