Doha, Qatar: Nomas Center, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, organised its inaugural professional training courses in the art of Naqda, targeting the center's female trainers.
The move was as part of its ongoing efforts to safeguard Qatar's folk heritage and protect it from extinction, in a context marked by an intentional push to broaden the aperture of cultural preservation and reverse decades of neglect affecting traditional crafts.
The Naqda craft is one of the most ancient traditional professions in Qatar and the Arab Gulf. It is an art of embroidering local garments and traditional attire, particularly lightweight fabrics, using gold and silver threads to impart a refined artistic and aesthetic touch, reaffirming the cultural accord between heritage authenticity and contemporary craftsmanship.
Twelve female trainers from the center's technical staff took part in these intensive two-day courses. The workshop was supervised by trainer Radhiya Al Haddad, one of the few seasoned professionals in this field, with the aim of transferring the fine-grained secrets of this delicate craft to a new generation of trainers.
This step comes as part of Nomas's energised effort to broaden the aperture of cultural awareness regarding the aesthetics of the traditional head covering, which was historically adorned with silver or gold threads.
Through these courses, the center intends to elevate these skills into a codified science and art, ensuring the continuity of national identity in traditional handicrafts for generations to come.
The Head of the Girls' Section at the Nomas Center, Maryam Ahmed Al Dosari, highlighted that this was a pilot course aimed at gauging the trainees' level of engagement and advancing the training curriculum in the future.
She further noted that Naqda depends on high manual skill, with silver and gold threads used to form precise geometric units, employing specialised needles that differ entirely from conventional ones, in addition to extremely delicate fabrics such as tulle or shayla. This process demands intense discipline, concentration, and caution to prevent damage to the fabric.
The participants underscored both the importance and the inherent difficulty of this art form. The first day alone required maxed-out focus and sustained effort.
Accordingly, the participants proposed increasing the number of days allocated for future courses and extending daily training hours to ensure proper skill refinement, adequate practice, and full mastery of this authentic heritage craft.
