Dubai has announced plans to set up the world's first collective endowment park and dates factory, thus reviving a 125-year-old custom of the endowment of palm trees in the region.

The park is being developed by Dubai Municipality in co-ordination with Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy (MBRGCEC), reported state news agency Wam. 

It will come up over a 15-hectare area near Mushrif Park.

The new park combines the business model of crowdsourcing (a concept that has been successfully used in many economic projects) with the concept of innovative endowment adopted by the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Centre for Endowment Consultancy, said the report, citing a top official.

“We all know that Dubai is pioneering in innovation in different fields; today we announce one of its innovations in the charity field. This is in line with the year of giving declared by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, the strategy of the year of giving launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai," remarked Hussain Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality.

"Alihsan park will be the first collective-endowment park in the world under the name of UAE community,” he added.

Lootah said work will soon start on the infrastructure of the endowment park and then it will open the door for the community to donate palms from their houses and farms.

"The production of this park will be packed in an endowment date factory located in the same park.  The dates will be distributed to needy segments,” he added.

Dr Hamad Al Hammady, secretary general of MBRGCEC said: “The endowment park in Dubai is one of the initiative that supports the directives of UAE leadership with regard to the year of giving. The centre works to establish innovative initiatives to open the doors for the whole community to be part of endowment.”

The first collective-endowment park in the world will be established with the members of the UAE community donating the palm trees, which in turn will become an agricultural endowment, said the report.

The project will also include a charity date-packing factory, which will allocate its entire production towards the needy members within the UAE community. The project has an expected annual production capacity of around 150 tonnes of dates, it added.

The Endowment Park aims at opening the doors of sustainable charity to all its community members. The entire concept is derived from the 125-year-old custom originating from the Hatta region, which had the social custom of endowing palms by traditionally donating the proceeds into charity and favouring the needy members of the community, said the Wam report.

During the second half, Dubai Municipality will invite donations towards the palms endowment for the park as soon as the infrastructure is completed on the project.

The municipality will also issue the specific requirements for each endowment palm tree in order to ensure the quality of production within the Endowment Park, it added.