Irthi is Teaching a 3D Scanner to Remember Emirati Weaving

Some traditions are passed down by word of mouth. Others by watching someone else's hands. But as fewer people practise heritage crafts, that raises a question: how do you preserve knowledge that was never written down in the first place?

It's a question the Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council has been sitting with. The Sharjah-based organisation has been experimenting new ways to document and rethink Emirati crafts, from 3D-scanning weaving techniques to developing natural dyes made from food waste.

The research extends to materials, too. Working with local plants, including the date palm, Irthi has been finding ways to extract textile fibres that offer new possibilities for traditional weaving without straying too far from its roots.

Alongside the technical work, the council is building an archive of illustrated guides, photographs and conversations with Emirati artisans— documenting the techniques, alongside the knowledge and stories that surround them in an attempt to capture a craft tradition that's always been passed on person to person, before that knowledge disappears with the people who hold it.

The new materials and dyeing methods are also being introduced to artisans through workshops, while the dye recipes have been compiled into a reference book, making them easier to pass on.