Yemeni Preservation Project 2025

Preserving traditional Yemeni embroidery through hand embroidery workshops based on looking at traditional garments, documenting them and creating wall pieces inspired by the studied techniques and designs.

Educational session with project participants 

The project featured dedicated sessions that traced the origins of the dresses while deepening participants’ knowledge. The women enjoyed seeing the garments connected to specific regions and gained a greater appreciation for the depth and diversity of their country’s embroidery traditions. 

One of the project's trainees practicing beading techniques

The training sessions focused on working with sequins, beads and appliqué, ultimately benefitted more women than initially selected for the project. Rather than being discarded, the trial pieces were transformed by participants in YENOF’s embroidery programme into pouches, ensuring that the learning process also resulted in usable products. It sparked strong interest among women who were not originally part of the project, creating opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and skills transfer. These newly acquired skills will be applied to pouches and other accessible products, supporting income-generation opportunities while promoting and sustaining Yemeni embroidery. 

Beaded pouch 17 x 27 cm

Details of pouches in various sizes 

Detail of a traditional, hand-embroidered indigo-dyed dress from the Djebel Haraz region, dating to the 20th century, embellished with brass elements and mother-of-pearl details (left image). It was one of 25 dresses used in the project’s teaching sessions and served as a key source of inspiration for one of the wall pieces created during the project (right image – details showing).     

Work on the Djebel Haraz dress in progress, 55 x 40 cm