Liwa Date Festival 2025: Emirati women transform palm handicrafts into sustainable art

The 21st edition of the Liwa Date Festival showcases a vibrant array of handmade traditional crafts that echo the spirit of the past. These creations, crafted by Emirati women dedicated to preserving heritage, form a rich cultural mosaic across 14 corners within the Handicrafts Pavilion at the festival, held in Liwa City, Al Dhafra Region, until July 27, under the organization of the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority.

The exhibit includes a variety of palm-based handicrafts, such as Al-Saf weaving, dyed palm fronds, Karma containers, Fuwalat Al-Hayb (white palm heart delicacies), date-based sweets, Al-Qurs bread, and innovative uses of palm components like charcoal production, palm-based incense, incense sticks, karab (palm sheaths), natural paper making, palm fiber carpets, and palm frond flowers.

These handicrafts present visitors with a deep insight into the creative reuse of palm trees in daily life. They highlight the economic value generated for local families, while celebrating the pivotal role of Emirati women in upcycling palm materials to adapt to environmental challenges—preserving national identity and passing it down through generations.

Among the most iconic crafts is Al-Saf, which involves braiding palm fronds (khos) into items like sarood (traditional serving trays) and mekhrafa (date pickers). The inner frond, known as the “heart” or khafiya, is first cleaned (hasl), dried briefly, and stored for future use.

Dyeing the fronds uses traditional methods: water is boiled and mixed with natural colorants, into which the fronds are submerged for five minutes before being dried completely, giving them a distinctive look and artistic appeal.

Karma containers are crafted using fronds and palm midribs (aseq), lined with tanned sheepskin and treated with fenugreek paste to ensure they are leak-proof.

In the Fuwalat Al-Hayb section, visitors are offered a taste of the sweet, iron- and vitamin-rich white heart of the palm. Another section displays traditional date-based treats such as batheeth, sha’atha, and mamrousa, reflecting authentic Emirati hospitality. Also featured is Al-Qurs, a healthy traditional bread made with whole wheat flour and mashed dates as a natural sweetener—rich in energy, fiber, and immunity-boosting minerals, and free of refined sugars.

The Palm Products Corner tells the story of how Emirati women have transformed traditional weaving into modern accessories such as bags and wallets that preserve cultural identity while appealing to contemporary tastes.

Other displays include:

The competition area of the festival is adorned with 56 innovative sculptures made from palm trunks, showcased in the “Creativity from Palm Trunks” exhibition, launched as part of the festival’s 21st edition. The initiative by the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority encourages the recycling of palm trunks to produce artworks that combine aesthetic and environmental value, aligning with the festival’s celebration of the palm tree during the date harvesting season.

This creative competition emphasizes the palm tree’s role in Emirati heritage and supports the sustainability of the agricultural and cultural sectors.

Among the standout pieces on display are sculptures of:

This competition, open exclusively to UAE nationals, offers valuable prizes to the winners. Participants use basic manual tools to sculpt palm trunks into representations of historic or modern Emirati architecture—avoiding depictions of living beings or human figures. Each participant is allowed to submit one artwork only.

The organizing committee has outlined key judging criteria, including:

The Liwa Date Festival continues to be a vibrant platform where art, heritage, and sustainability converge, showcasing the ingenuity of Emirati craftsmanship while celebrating the enduring cultural and ecological significance of the palm tree.