Lok Virsa's craft training courses underway: Classes begin across seven traditional disciplines

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Mar, 2026) The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) has officially commenced its series of training courses in traditional folk crafts under its flagship project, the National Craft Emporium.

The classes are now in session, with selected participants actively engaged in learning across seven distinct craft disciplines at Lok Virsa's campus.

The courses being offered covers a rich and diverse portfolio of Pakistan's intangible cultural heritage and includ Calligraphy, Block Printing using Natural Vegetable Dyes, Chunri (Tie & Dye), Pottery and Ceramics, Weaving, Folk Painting, and Costume Designing.

These disciplines represent a deliberate effort to transmit endangered craft knowledge to a younger, formally educated generation, turning traditional skills from a fading inheritance into a living profession.

The participants in the inaugural cohort are drawn from youth aged 18 to 30, each holding a minimum of 14 years of education, specifically in fields such as Textile, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, or closely related disciplines.

Each course cohort is capped at 20 participants, with selection made on a first come, first served basis from applications submitted ahead of the February 28.

According to an official, the courses carry no tuition fee in line with a deliberate policy by Lok Virsa to lower barriers to entry and make craft education accessible.

In exchange, participants are required to maintain a minimum 80 percent attendance throughout the three-month duration. Those who meet this threshold will receive a course completion certificate from the institution.

The National Craft Emporium project sits at the intersection of heritage preservation and youth economic empowerment.

By pairing formal design education backgrounds with hands-on mastery of traditional crafts, Lok Virsa appears to be building a pipeline of practitioners who are equally fluent in market aesthetics and ancestral technique which is a combination increasingly sought by both domestic artisan industries and international craft buyers.

Pakistan's craft sector, which encompasses thousands of artisans and contributes meaningfully to exports, has long grappled with questions of succession and skill transfer.

Such initiatives that are institutional, structured, and certificate-bearing, represent one answer to that challenge.