Agate is extracted from the mountains manually and by self-effort by digging, before it is converted into jewellery, rings, belts and chains for decoration for men and women
The onyx industry is trying to “survive” amid very difficult conditions due to the brutal war that the country has been witnessing for more than six years.
This ancient industry is concentrated in the copper brokerage, which is a group of small shops or shops owned by coppersmiths who make copper tools and ornaments, in the center of the historic city in the capital, Sana’a.

Despite being precious stones, after six years of a brutal war, their value lies only in the great effort made by their extractors from the depths of the mountains and the bellies of the rocks.

The Yemeni onyx industry, one of the types of gemstones that this country is famous for, is trying to “survive” amid very difficult conditions due to the brutal war that the country has been witnessing for more than six years.

This ancient industry is concentrated in the “copper brokerage”, a group of small shops or shops owned by coppersmiths and those who manufacture copper tools, in the center of the historic city in the capital, Sana’a.

** The struggle of a woman in a “masculine” profession

Mona Ali, a Yemeni woman craftsman and carving trainer, comes every day to the gemstone carving center at the Copper Broker Center, so that she can help her husband, who lost his job due to the current situation, and meet the needs of her family of five.

This lady managed to acquire a high skill in carving and crafting gemstones that are brought to the center of various sizes and undergo several stages until they are ready.

Mona practices her craft, working agate, in the old (primitive) way. She explains her work by saying: “First, we take a stone cat and cut it into slices with a saw, and then we move on to the second stage, which is grinding the lobe (stone slices).”

Mona continues her work, despite the opposition of society, because of the nature of the place frequented by men and the fact that she practices it in primitive ways and sharp and dangerous tools that a woman may not be able to practice.

Mona says: “We faced difficulties, but we overcame them and continued to work and worked successfully, and we were able to prove our existence as women working on agate and precious stones.”

** My Soul Attachment

Yemeni agate is extracted from mountains in Yemen, manually and by self-effort by digging by citizens, before it is converted into jewelry, rings, belts and chains for decoration for men and women.

Besides Mona, other craftspeople work in the center, such as Mujahid Al-Ansi, head of the precious and semi-precious stones department at the center that has been incubating this industry for decades.

Al-Ansi is considered one of the old fighters in this work, despite the scarcity of support and capabilities. He is attached to this stone “spiritually” because his family inherited this profession from father to grandfather.

Mujahid says: “I have had a passion for the craft since I was young, and I developed my skills from the mining and extraction process to the working and processing process in the factory. I also did the training and rehabilitation process, because I love this craft because it is a civilization, history and heritage linked to the civilization of the ancient ancestors.”

He believes that the process of discovering and extracting gemstones and producing new forms takes place randomly in the country, and is not subject to scientific or even technical rules or laws.

He points out that “the process of extracting it, preparing it and marketing it, takes place without oversight by those concerned with the expertise and knowledge of the correct and safe extraction methods.”

He says: “There is an absolute necessity for an official body to organize this process, whether it is the Ministry of Culture, the Minerals and Geological Survey, or any other body that represents the state within the framework of quality and product control and maintaining its level.”

** Industry .. to decline

Despite Yemen’s fame for its agate excellence, the process of its production and trade has deteriorated dramatically due to the war that destroyed the Yemeni economy and led to the cessation of domestic and foreign tourism, and the costs of extracting and manufacturing it doubled, and the gemstone trade became small and confined internally.

Yahya Jaber Al-Sheikh, one of the first craftsmen at the Copper Broker Center, complains of the deteriorating demand for onyx, compared to what it was before the war, which led to the interruption of the influx of tourists.

“The import of counterfeit gemstones from abroad also had an impact on the trade of the original natural onyx,” according to the sheikh.

He says: “If you want to promote your work and production, you cannot find anyone who appreciates or appreciates its value and buys it, as it was previously on the part of Arab or foreign tourists, after the war closed the ports and hindered the export of agate abroad.”

Gemstone dealer Yahya Jaber al-Sheikh is one of dozens of merchants who are still struggling to open their stores and receive local visitors, who rarely visit them, after dozens of other stores closed their doors after their bankruptcy and the inability of their owners even to pay the rent.

Agate types differ in terms of price and quality, depending on the attractive color that gives the stones a higher value, as well as their association with some legends that claim that it brings livelihood and enhances self-confidence for those who carry it.

In the “Bab al-Yaman” neighborhood inside the old city of Sana’a, the agate trade still exists in many shops, which are filled with different types of it.

And after these stores, years ago, were an important place for tourists from all over the world, today they are limited to local shoppers.

Dealers and sellers of onyx and precious stones believe that the war greatly affected all workers in the field of agate industry and trade, and it is no longer the same as it was before the war.

Yemen has been witnessing a war for more than six years, which has claimed the lives of 233,000 people, and 80 percent of the population, numbering about 30 million, has become dependent on support and aid, in the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the United Nations.

The conflict has regional spillovers. Since 2015, an Arab coalition led by the Saudi neighbor has carried out military operations in Yemen in support of government forces, in the face of the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have controlled governorates, including the capital, Sanaa, since 2014.