Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) and Gadheemee Collection has concluded a course on traditional stone carving.
The ‘Traditional Stone Carving Course’ was the first of its kind, which ran for three months starting from June 20.
The closing ceremony of the course was held on Monday at the National Museum in capital Male. Arts and culture minister Yumna Maumoon and MATI Secretary General Ahmed Nazeer attended and spoke at the event.
Other attendees included senior officials of the arts and culture ministry, environment ministry, TVET Authority, MATI, Mohamed Imran Ahmed of Gadheemee Collection (the trainer), the students of the course and other governmental bodies as well as media personnel.
The function included a presentation and display of the work carried out by the students of the course as well as handing out of course completion certificates.
“The preservation and promotion of Maldivian culture is a key area of focus for MATI. Furthermore, traditional stone carving was picked specifically as research suggested that this is a dying art with very few traditional stone masons/carvers operating in Maldives,” a statement issued by MATI read.
“MATI also believes that the Tourism Industry is a viable platform that can assist in the revival and promotion traditional arts and crafts by providing artisans and craftsmen a platform to showcase their products and services and earn a living out of practicing traditional arts and crafts.”
As a non-profit established since the introduction of tourism in Maldives, MATI has been at the forefront of almost all travel and tourism related activities and issues in the Maldives for the past three decades. The association coordinates with government and liaise with organisations locally and internationally to solidify member services and operations in the tourism sector.
Founded in 2010, Gadheemee Collection aims to reintroduce the almost lost traditional art form of stone carving, which is embedded in the history of Maldivian arts and crafts, by recreating the ancient lime stone carvings made by our ancestors.