The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism )MHT(is implementing a number of projects that , aims at preserving the handicraft heritage, which is considered as a part of the  national treasure and one of the most important pillars of preserving the Omani identity as well as  introducing it as a heritage of nations ,which always sheds light on the history of the  ancestors who lived on country's  land thousands of years ago.

The implementation of these projects stems from the valueadded that, represented by the handicraft heritage, whether for the tourism sector, by enriching the attractive tourist product and providing a unique experience for the visitor, supporting craftsmen and developing their capabilities, as well as contributing to the marketing and promoting of the handicraft product and enhancing its economic contribution.

Alia Al Hinai ,Director of the Craft Heritage Department at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, said: “ The handicraft heritage is whatever has historical, cultural and social importance, that is being inherited through generations, including the handicraft products, their elements, the associated moral, utilitarian or aesthetic value such as knowledge, skills, techniques and environments for practicing crafts with machines, equipment and sites of extraction of raw materials for creating crafts in their various industries, such as wood, which includes the manufacture of ships and boats, silverware, daggers, ornaments, copper and metals, as well as leather industries, pottery, ceramics, palm fronds, the distillation of aromatic plants, incense, stone, gypsum and bone industries, musical instruments, fishing tools, cotton and woollen fabric, paints and dye'.

She added that, the ministry is interested in all matters related to the craft heritage in a way that ensures its collection and documenting, good managing, protection, and transmitting it toward the future generations, while the Ministry also gives a great attention to the research activities in the fields of craft development.

Clarifying how to register some crafts at UNESCOas an intangible heritage , Alia Al Hinai ,  said: “ Protecting national crafts is one of the competences of MHT , to register them with the competent authorities"

In this context, the Omani dagger -Al Khanjar- was recently inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, within the craft skills and social practices associated with it at the beginning of this year. At the same time, a number of files were submitted to the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth, as it is the competent authority for coordinating with UNESCO.

She pointed out that, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is implementing a number of projects related to craft heritage, including the innovative project of the Omani Al-Sarooj industry, which is a collaborative initiative launched in cooperation between the Industrial Innovation Centre and the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.

This project aims at developing the process of producing Omani Sarooj, in accordance with the high standards and quality. The project has been completed and officially launched along with its brand, while a cooperation agreement was also signed with Oman Cement Company to produce this innovative product commercially, where the Ministry will have a known share, as the Ministry hopes that the product will be available in the markets by the end of 2023.

In addition to that, there is a project for cultivating green cotton, which is a name for Omani cotton (the Omani seed), which was previously cultivated in Oman a long time ago, and it is the cotton from which the Soharian and other textiles were woven in the Wilayats of the Sultanate of Oman.

The cultivation of this type of cotton spread in most of the governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, while specific Wilayats were famous for their abundant production of green cotton, where their people were skilled in cotton textile industries, including the Wilayat of Sumail in the Governorate of A'Dakhiliyah, the Wilayat of Al Mudhaibi in the Governorate of   A'Sharqiyah North, etc.

About the mechanism of using Khadarnji cotton in the handicraft industries, she said that it was based on the cotton textile industries of loincloths and other textiles, while it is distinguished by  the color of the cotton and the density of its seeds that produce quantities of oil that were used  for various purposes in the past.

She clarified that an agreement was signed with a house of expertise (the Academy of Industrial Innovation) on 1/6/2023, to implement the project under the supervision of the competent department in the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, at an estimated cost of thirty thousand Omani riyals. Work is now underway in the first phase of the project.

She pointed out that, there is also a study for the investment of leather in the Sultanate of Oman, which is a project aims at developing a mechanism to activate the slaughterhouses with the highest efficiency  to benefit from the leather by activating the previously existing assets (the tannery of the south in Dhofar, and the Masran factory in Buraimi), and through the developing  of a mechanism In cooperation with the competent authorities.

An agreement was signed with a house of expertise (the Academy of Industrial Innovation) on 1/6/2023 to implement the project under the supervision of the competent department in the Ministry at an estimated cost of thirty thousand Omani riyals, and work is underway now in the first phase of the project.He stressed that , the promotion of leather investment for the craft heritage in the Sultanate of Oman is based on the availability of raw materials at competitive prices, which enhances the competitive value of the craft product in the future.

She  also pointed out that , the value added of each of these projects takes into account that, the economic factor is the basis of permanence in industrial or commercial work, and this is what the Omani crafts contain in terms of the ability to continue and perpetuate from one generation to the next.

The studies carried out by the Ministry also work to maximize the economic benefit of crafts, though identifying investment opportunities and exploiting them in cooperation with the concerned authorities in the country.

Alia Al Hinai emphasized that, the ministry is exerting efforts to support the craft heritage by assisting artisans, implementing studies and inventorying the crafts carried out by the ministry, coming up with recommendations and proposals, and addressing the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority to prepare programs that will strengthen the craft sector.

It is worth noting that the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is also working on documenting handicraft industries through a number of publications, including the “Treasures of Craftsmanship Series" bulletin that is issued monthly, In addition to the project of documenting the handicraft industry, through which the Omani doors, the Nizwanidallah, the pottery, the Omani izar, the stick of the Jirrz, the Aatla, the Makbah, the Omani Khanjar, the anklet, and the Hithiyahwere documented.

Also, data for a group of crafts were collected from the governorates, as data were collected on palm fronds, copper and silver industries, leather, wood industries, and cotton fabric.​

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