Women in Hebron Co-operative

The Women in Hebron Co-operative in Palestine, make beautiful Embroidered Items and work with the Hebron factory producing Kaffiyeh Scarves

Founded in 2005 there are now 120 women from across Hebron district in the West Bank, Palestine producing beautiful embroidered items for sale locally and in the UK.

The proceeds from sales provide the co-op members and their families with an income, in a place where women especially have difficulty finding employment.

Their work is based on the idea that developing Palestinian crafts is more than just an income-generating project. It is in of itself an act of community-strengthening, of honouring the role of women in society, and a means to show sumud – steadfastness – in the face of the occupation of Palestine and the harm it is doing to the people of Hebron.

Nina from Fair Grounds visited the Women in Hebron Co-op in April 2016 and heard about the daily struggle of living under the occupation in Palestine.

Nawal, the founder of the co-op was 2 hours late to the workshop because her neighbour’s house was being raided by Israeli soldiers. She lives close to the Green Line and house raids are an almost daily occurrence.

Many of the women work from home, hand-embroidering purses, bags, glasses cases and more. The pieces are then checked and finished off by a few women in the Idna workshop.

The co-op provides an important community and social space for the women to support each other as they work together. They eat lunch together every day and say they feel like a big family.