New Friendships Start Here!
The Ranches Ladies encourage friendship and understanding between ladies of all nationalities. It is a great way to make friends and find others with similar interests. We welcome ladies who wish to join from all areas of Dubai.
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Into the Spotlight!
Ranches Ladies Silver Award Ethraa Awards Evening
“Proud, grateful and truly honoured”
We are delighted to share that we received the Silver Award at the CDA (Community Development Authority) Ethraa Awards for 2025, following our Gold Award win last year.
Being recognised once again is a wonderful affirmation of the passion, dedication and community spirit behind everything we do.
This achievement belongs to every volunteer, member and supporter who continues to believe in our mission and contribute their time, energy and heart.
Thank you for being part of this journey, we move forward inspired and motivated to do even more.
Hayet Zerelli – Ranches Ladies President
Ranches Ladies Gold Award
You may have heard that the Ranches Ladies won a prestigious award recently and consequently might be wondering what it was and why they won it.
Well, let me map out the details because it really is something special!
The Community Development Authority in Dubai (CDA) which is responsible for establishing and developing plans for social expansion within the Emirate under the guidance of the Director General Her Excellency Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, and facilitated by the Ethraa Empowerment Program for Non-Profit Organisations, created an initiative to evaluate and honour the contribution made to society in Dubai by non-profit organisations. The intention was to recognise the part NGO’s played that, “demonstrated a strong commitment to develop sustainable and innovative solutions that address the needs of society in a holistic and integrated manner “.
Also, this award reflects organisations whose missions and services are in harmony with the Dubai Social Agenda 2033 framework, that aims to foster inclusivity, community development and societal wellbeing.
With the RL having a pedigree of nearly 20 years of service a decision was made to submit an application to enter the group for consideration in this initiative.
RL had to present comprehensive details (in Arabic) to show they fulfilled the precise criteria that, “reflect the quality of their service and their alignment with Dubai’s social development priorities “.
The evaluation criteria were robust and focused on several key aspects and considered a number of important matters including diversity, services offered, creativity and innovation in developing solutions for social challenges.
As a result RL received a Gold Award which highlighted that they had established a benchmark for excellence. Their commitment to quality and innovation was noticeable and aligned with the policy of the CDA. Significantly, the encouragement and motivation that thrives in non-profit organisations are both requirements to being successful in gaining an award of this kind and to maintaining growth of its members in its scheduled meetings. So, looking at the current active participation of women in RL, it would seem that there is a bright future ahead for everyone. As well as there being plenty of opportunities to engage in social interactions!
Ranches Ladies Featured in Khaleej Times!
We are thrilled to share that Ranches Ladies has been featured in Khaleej Times! The article, “How a Dubai Group is Helping Women Make Lasting Friendships, Pursue Passions,” highlights our vibrant community and the incredible connections we foster among women in Dubai.
Read the full article written by Tessy Koshy here: Khaleej Times Feature
We welcome new members. Membership runs from the start of September until the end of August, but you can join at any time. Renewals are done from September onwards.
You can join or renew your membership on Tuesday mornings from 10:30 – 12:00 at Larte in Studio One Hotel, Studio City.
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.
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Take a look at some of our past events:
Ranches Ladies at Lunch
The Lunch Circle met at Eugène Eugène in the Kempinski Hotel, Mall of the Emirates. Another lovely opportunity for the Ranches Ladies to meet up and enjoy superb food, attentive service and scintillating conversation.
Ranches Ladies Circles Morning
Ranches Ladies held their annual Circles Coffee Morning in October 2025. It was an incredibly successful morning with over 80 Ranches Ladies in attendance. New Ranches Ladies members were able to witness, first hand, the range of activities available and chat to the different Circles leaders. Many of the Circles were able to recruit new members to swell the ranks.
The board would like to thank the Circles coordinator, all the Circles leaders and the members of Ranches Ladies who attended and made the morning such a success.
Breast Cancer Awareness & Menopause with Dr Sarah Shariff
Ranches Ladies were privileged to welcome Dr. Sarah Sharif to speak about breast health and the transition to menopause.
The first topic was breast screening information around frequency, risk factors and outcomes were shared, giving the attendees knowledge to help with their health decisions. A detailed description of the best method and timing of self-examination was given along with clear indications of warning signs that could be found. The importance of the breast screening programme was discussed in detail, advice on modern methods and advice on timing and preparation for the most comfortable experience were shared and discussed.
The key points for take away were, get to know your own breasts and establish what is normal for you; attend your screening yearly as early detection is key for the best possible outcome; talk to your daughters, mothers, aunts, friends and make it a comfortable topic and make self-examination as normal as brushing your teeth.
The talk then moved on to perimenopause and menopause management which is something almost all women will experience. Again, detailed information was shared, covering signs, symptoms, and some of the physiological reasons behind why they happen. Various HRT options were discussed along with lifestyle changes that will impact the outcomes for individual women.
The key points from this topic were that perimenopause can begin from as early as mid-30s, talk to your doctor and get support for changes that are happening in your body; lifestyle is important so get to and maintain a healthy weight, eat a high fibre fruit and vegetable based diet and take regular exercise that includes some weight or resistance training. Understanding your body is vital therefore, take teenage girls to meet staff at well woman clinics and make caring for your own body normal!
All who attended agreed that this was a highly valuable session and felt their knowledge of their health choices was improved. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Sarah Shariff for an informative experience.
A Cultural Trip to The Mohammed bin Rashid Library
A group of the Ranches Ladies went on a cultural visit to The Mohammed bin Rashid Library in Al Jaddaf on 30th October 2025. . Wow! None of us realised the scope of the collection of exhibits on the top floor. There are fascinating hand drawn maps from the 15th century, examples of stunning calligraphy in Arabic script, beautifully illustrated Christian scenes, and first editions from Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton, Dante and Austen through to Dickens, Ibsen and even Darwin! Everyone agreed that a return visit would be a great idea to view these exhibits once again.
The general library is on the ground floor, for information, it’s 150 aed to join for 5 years which enables you to borrow books. If there are any fellow book lovers reading, be warned; they are using the American classification system, rather than the European Dewey decimal one. Surprisingly this resulted in Cookbooks being right next to Military History, but there are plenty of staff around to help navigate the subjects. One member left with the latest James Patterson tucked under her arm.
The five floors between the exhibits on the 7th floor and the general library contain specialist collections and study areas.
We then had a bit of a warm walk over to the Marine Station where, for the princely sum of 2 aed, we rode on a rather nice abra across to Creek Harbour. Just a warning, this is a busy route and the boat only seats 20, so large groups may need to split and it’s a 15 minute wait between boats.
Lunch was in the Next Door Kitchen on the harbour where a wide selection of delicious food was on offer. Recommendations from around the table included the classic hot dog, the pizzas, which were huge and incredibly tasty, and the salads. The staff managed 25 of us for lunch very well and we appreciated the prompt arrival of beverages following a hot walk and boat ride.
Festive Wreath-making Coffee Morning
It was another very enjoyable morning at our Ranches Ladies Festive Table Centrepiece Event which has been held each year over the past four years collaborating with florists “The Gorgeous Flower Co” based in Studio City.
There was a wonderful array of fresh foliage for the festive season with sprays of silver and gold amongst reds, greens and orange colours giving life to all the beautiful individual creations by Ranches Ladies members.
All these festive centrepieces have adorned either our or friend’s homes and still do.
Long may our members enjoy and have fun with others learning, experimenting and creating something new either for the very first time or improving skills each time and afterwards relaxing in Larte for coffee and treats.
Ranches Ladies 