BAHRAIN’S precious palm trees are being celebrated next month in a three-day festival that will showcase their benefits as well as encourage their preservation and production due to their significant representation of the kingdom’s heritage.
The fourth edition of the annual cultural heritage festival, ‘Khairat Al Nakhla’ (Palm Tree Bounties), which in Arabic means the blessings of the palm tree, is being organised by the National Initiative for Agricultural Development (NIAD) in co-operation with the Farmers Market Department of the Bahrain Development Bank and the Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Ministry.
“It will be inaugurated by NIAD’s secretary-general Shaikha Maram bint Isa Al Khalifa on August 3 at the Farmer’s Market in Hoorat A’ali alongside other officials from the various entities involved,” said a NIAD spokesperson.
“Last year, Shaikha Maram stressed the keenness to organise this festival on an ongoing basis. The festival aims to encourage and support the local production of all palm and date products to preserve the agricultural identity and hopes to feature a large number of Bahraini farmers, agricultural companies, artisans and productive families.”
Palm trees are native to the kingdom which is why Bahrain is known as the land of a million palm trees.
The beauty of the tree is that, aside from the dates, every part of it can be turned into something useful. For example, cut fronds are used for fishing nets, the leaves are used to weave baskets and pollen is scraped from the leaves to produce pollen water for medicinal purposes.
Dates are also considered a holy fruit in the Middle East, which is why the date palm is regarded as the ‘Tree of Life’.
Historians believe that dates are ancient fruits that were cultivated around 8,000 years ago and that there are more than 200 varieties of dates with different shapes and flavours. However, all of them offer the same nutrition.
“The kingdom maintains a genetic diversity of date palm varieties, which requires the ministry to strive to preserve it through partnership with farmers, and to work on the care and development of the date palm sector, as it has been an indigenous component on the land of Bahrain for over 6,000 years,” said agriculture and marine resources assistant under-secretary Dr Abdulaziz Mohammed Abdulkarim last year.
During the third edition, the Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Ministry showcased the different types of insects that are harming palm trees and the different methods that are being used to help preserve the trees and help them flourish too.
The festival also included a number of entertainment and cultural activities along with a selection of food items made from dates such as sweets, ice cream and date pickles for sale along with various types of dates on display.
Exhibitors also featured products extracted from palm trees such as ropes, baskets, cages and furniture along with tools used in maintaining the trees.
The festival will be held from August 3-5, free of charge, and is open from 10am to 5pm.
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