Islamabad, March 6, 2026 The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) has officially started its series of training courses in the field of traditional folk crafts under its flagship project, the National Crafts Centre.
Classes are now in session, with selected participants actively engaged in learning across seven distinct craft disciplines on the LUK Virsa campus.
The courses offered cover a rich and diverse range of PakistanThe intangible cultural heritage of Pakistan includes calligraphy, block printing using natural plant dyes, chunri (tie and dye), pottery and ceramics, weaving, folk painting, and fashion design.
These specializations represent a deliberate effort to transfer endangered craft knowledge to a younger, formally educated generation, transforming traditional skills from a fading inheritance into a living profession.
Participants in the inaugural group are drawn from young people aged 18 to 30, each with at least 14 years of education, specifically in areas such as textiles, fashion design, fine arts, or closely related disciplines.
Each course group is capped at 20 participants, with selection made on a first-come, first-served basis from applications submitted before February 28.
According to an official, the courses do not carry any tuition fees in line with a deliberate policy by Lok Virsa to reduce barriers to entry and making handicrafts. education Accessible.
In return, participants are required to maintain an attendance rate of at least 80 percent throughout the three-month period. Those who meet this threshold will receive a certificate of course completion from the institution.
The National Craft Emporium project is located at the intersection of heritage preservation and youth economic empowerment.
By combining backgrounds of formal design education with practical mastery of traditional crafts, Lok Versa appears to be building a community of practitioners who master both market aesthetics and ancestral techniques, a combination increasingly sought after by both local craft industries and international craft buyers.
Pakistan’s craft sector, which has thousands of artisans and contributes significantly to exports, has long been grappling with issues of succession and skill transfer.
Such institutionalized, regulated and certified initiatives represent one answer to this challenge.