A project to preserve a centuries-old piece of culture in Oman

A project to preserve a centuries-old piece of culture in Oman

To conserve and sustain one of Oman's most precious and valuable natural resources, more than 2,000 frankincense trees have been planted over the past 12 months in the country's southern Dhofar region.The effort, as part of an initiative between the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) and cosmetics company Neal's Yard Remedies, also involves educating frankincense harvesters and growers on how to plant and care for their trees.The project, which began in 2009, aims at preserving the centuries-old methods of caring for the trees, which, in addition to putting Oman on maps of both the ancient and modern worlds, has been an integral source of income for the Dhofari people for millennia.So far, 2,200 trees have been planted as part of these efforts. 1,500 of these were planted in 2019, although plantation efforts only began in November last year, with a further 700 seedlings put into the soil in 2020, despite the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic.The latest step of this initiative saw both organisations reach out to farmers in the communities of Sadah and Thumrait, where nurseries have been set up to house more than 1,000 frankincense seedlings.“Frankincense trees have also played important environmental roles: they grow on marginal land