New friendships start here!

Ranches Ladies is a club that encourages friendship and understanding between ladies of all nationalities. It is a great way to make friends and find others with similar interests. Based around the area of Arabian Ranches, we welcome new members and those who live in other areas of Dubai.

To receive our weekly updated newsletter, enter you email in the box – on the right of the page on a laptop, or near end of page on mobile site.

We are meet at Larte Restaurant in Studio One Hotel, Studio City (across the roundabout from the back entrance of Arabian Ranches 1) from 10.30am to 12 noon on Tuesday mornings for coffee and chat.

We also over 25 interest groups, called circles, who meet weekly or monthly. These include Trips and excursions, Walking, Hiking, Climbing, Yoga, Pilates, Art, Mahjongg, Shanghai, Poetry and Book Groups, plus many more.

We welcome new members. Membership runs from the start of September until the end of August but you can join at anytime. Renewals are done from September onwards.

You can join or renew your membership on Tuesday mornings at Larte.

Get more information and download the form on the membership section of our website: Ranches Ladies Membership and Renewals

Annual membership dues of AED 120 cover administrative costs. The organisation is entirely non-profit and non-commercial. Benefits of membership include receiving a weekly email message of the week’s events and local discounts with your membership card.

If you would like to find out more about membership or renewals, or to join the Ranches Ladies Whatsapp group if you are a member, please email ranches.ladies@gmail.com

Look around our pages to see what is on offer.

Here are some of our past events:

Pre-Ramadan Iftar

7th March, 2024

On Thursday evening, 7th March 2024, nearly 30 Ranches Ladies joined the International Festive Food Circle for a pre-Ramadan Iftar gathering in Jackie Daair’s garden. Just before sunset, Saba gave us a brief overview of the significance of the Holy Month. Explaining that it was not only about fasting, Saba highlighted the very important aspects of prayer, self-improvement, kindness and charity. We then had the traditional coffee and dates, followed by soup and a fantastic array of dishes prepared by our members. It was a wonderful opportunity for the ladies to meet and chat in a very relaxed setting which was especially appreciated by the new members.

Many thanks to Carole for arranging, Jackie for hosting, to everyone for the amazing food and desserts and to all the ladies for making it such a memorable evening. Also, thanks to Ranches Ladies for sponsoring the evening and to our long-term discount partner, Xocolatl, for donating gift bags for all the ladies.

Ramadan Kareem!

Circles Coffee Morning

11th October 2023

Ranches Ladies Circle Morning, on 11th October, was a great success with nearly 70 ladies taking part. Representatives from all our Circles were on hand to talk about the activities on offer. We now have 26 different circles so there’s something for everyone! Coincidentally, Tuesday was also World Mental Health Day and what better way to maintain and improve one’s mental health than being part of a vibrant and friendly community like Ranches Ladies!
My thanks to the Circle Leaders for all the effort that goes into running their circles, to Josephine for organising everything so efficiently with Larte and to Lisa for handling registration and membership .
The staff at Larte also deserve a mention for their help in setting up the room and coping with the larger than expected turn out!
We had suggestions for at least two possible new circles so look out for information in the newsletter!

Jackie Daair
Circles Coordinator

Coffee Morning with HeroGo

18th April 2023

There was a good turnout at Larte on Tuesday 18th April to hear an interesting and informative presentation by Donna from HeroGo: the UAEs first grocery subscription service that helps fight food waste.

Food wastage is a problem all over the world. Did you know that in the UAE, one third of food grown gets thrown into landfill? This is not only a waste of good food but also the water and other resources used to produce it. Landfills cause air pollution due to carbon dioxide and methane gases produced.

Donna and the team at HeroGo are on a mission to reduce food waste by rescuing fresh produce that would otherwise be thrown away because of an oversupply, or because the fruit or vegetables are a different size or shape and get rejected by supermarkets. HeroGo is also raising awareness in the community about reducing food waste.

HeroGo grocery deliveries work on a subscription basis. You can sign up to receive a box of fruit, vegetables, or one with both, starting from 50 AED for a small box, every week or fortnight. The fruit and vegetables supplied will depend on what has been rescued that week, but you will be informed what is coming and get helpful recipe ideas on how to use the produce. You can pause or cancel the subscription anytime, with no strings attached. HeroGo hopes to expand to other types of groceries such as bakery, meat and dairy in the future.

In a few clicks on the HeroGo website, you save up to 40% on your regular grocery bill – plus help to save the planet and its resources.

https://www.herogo.ae/join-today

RL members can use code RANCHES to save 25% off first their 3 boxes.

2023 is the Year of Sustainability in the UAE. A guide to building other lasting sustainable habits, such as promoting food portioning, switching to slow fashion, adopting a more plant-based diet and reducing red meat consumption is available on the UAE Year of Sustainability’s website.

St Valentine’s Morning at Larte with ‘The Wandering Chefs’

14th February 2023

Well who could turn down a morning that included two Italian men cooking for us on Valentines Day?

We assembled at Larte from 10.30am and there was a buzz in the air and a sense of anticipation. We were guided to our tables which had been lovingly prepared for us with a choice of ingredients.

First things first, we donned our chefs hats and aprons and listened to Guiseppe and Geualdo… two Italian chefs from Sicily. They spoke to us about the benefits of eating local produce seasonally. Then we were given our own plates with pre-prepared dough. We were shown how to knead the air out of the dough and then top it with tomato sauce and our choice of mushrooms, olives, salami and mozzarella cheese. Thereafter, all that remained was to have our ‘masterpieces’ cooked in the pizza oven. This took only 5 to 10 mins. The aroma in the vicinity was delicious… we were all feeling hungry. Finally our pizzas were served and they were delicious! It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning with lots of banter, happy faces and stomachs.

Here is a selection of comments from other RL members:

“Fabulous morning, tasty pizzas…”

“Great fun! Petrified in case stretched dough too much and a hole might appear! Nicholette was a super guide!”

“Thank you for the Just Peachy gift voucher we all received, a nice surprise!”

“Sorry that you missed such a fun event Josephine but thank you Carole and Lisa for keeping us all informed and in line.”

Thanks to the Ranches Ladies team for organising. Also a big thank you to the team at Larte who enhanced the fun and atmosphere: Larte’s very own chef – Rajiv, Larte’s manager – Irina, who is also Italian, plus Daniel, Darren, Cookie, Jessa, Nausam, Memo and Sanjiv.

by Marina Rashed

Guiseppe and Geualdo’s Restaurant: https://www.instagram.com/sardasalatalicata/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Festive Wreath-making Coffee Morning

Tuesday, 13th December 2022

Wreaths made by Ranches Ladies and flowers from The Gorgeous Flower Co. Dubai

On 13th December 2022, many Ranches Ladies enjoyed making their own unique festive wreath, with material and expert instruction from The Gorgeous Flower Co. Dubai. The beautiful wreaths are now adorning doors, walls and dining tables to bring festive cheer to homes.

Ranches Ladies wish to say a big thank you to all those who contributed to our Festive Wreath Coffee Morning Event:

The Gorgeous Flower Co. for organising the craft, Larte Restaurant in Studio One Hotel for hosting and refreshments. Also to Larte, Paintbox Hair Salon, Rags to Riches Restaurant and Spinneys for donating gift prizes.

One of our members, Niamh, has shared her experience of the event:

Christmas is my favourite time of year! And this time is no different but having just moved back to Dubai and resigning from my job after 27 years, I have to say I felt a bit lost, so joining Ranches Ladies could not have come at a better time for me. I had always heard of Ranches Ladies but had no clue really as to what it was all about, but it has been amazing. I have loved meeting so many wonderful ladies over the last few months, so what better way to start the Festive Season than with the Ranches Ladies.

I don’t know about you, but I have always admired the beautiful wreaths you see in the shops here, but I had no idea how much work goes into making one! So, when I saw the opportunity to learn how to make a Christmas Wreath, I jumped at the chance. I mean, how hard could it be?! Well just say, I have a newfound respect for anyone who makes them!

Tuesday morning, when we arrived, Larte had been transformed into a festive flower studio. There were 6 staff on hand from Gorgeous Flowers to help us at every stage with Sam and Caroline at the helm. It was amazing to see so many different varieties of freshly cut foliage, along with red berries, decorative dried oranges, cinnamon, lotus flowers, sticks, pine cones laid out on the tables for us to choose from. The eucalyptus was in high demand! But for me, it was the beautiful gold and silver sprayed leaves and gorgeous bows. Everyone’s wreaths were so different and so beautiful.

And to reward us all for our hard work, we were then ushered through to a small feast prepared by Chef Rajiv for LArte who specially prepared and baked Panatone and Lemon Torte (specially made with Almond flour) and Chocolate and walnut Brownies. And we also had beautiful Mince pies from Spinneys. Teas and coffee and treat replenishments were served by attentive Larte staff
We were surprised with an unexpected raffle of donated gift prizes from Studio One hotel, Gorgeous Flowers, Paintbox (Hair Ladies Salon, located nearby in Arjan) and also recently opened Rags to Riches Restaurant. I didn’t win anything sadly but left a very happy girl with my beautiful wreath and a lovely little token party bag of mince pies donated by Spinneys.

Wishing everyone a fabulous New Year and looking forward to making the wreaths again next year!

Warm regards Niamh

Festive Bazaar

25th November 2021

Here are some photos from our Festive Bazaar, held this year in collaboration with Origin, at The Sustainable City plaza on Thursday evening, 25th November. Thank you to all Ranches Ladies who helped to make it a successful event and an enjoyable evening. Also thank you to Origin and Sustainable City and all the vendors who participated.