Empower Artisans in Palestine through Fair Trade

The year 2025 saw further deterioration of the situation across Palestine.  Despite many challenges, however, our partner producer groups in the West Bank and Gaza never stopped working.  Sunbula helped sustain their livelihood by keeping our fair trade shop in Jerusalem and the online shop in operation while working to build their capacity and protecting the cultural heritage.  These are our highlights we'd like to share with you.

1. We trained the artisans in the Bedouin community

We ran training activities at Noor Al-Qamar, our partner in the Bedouin community of Anata, located just outside Jerusalem. Their jewelry-making team received an online training by Ibrahim Al-Muhtadi, a designer from Gaza, to upgrade skills required for a new jewelry collection designed by him. Their sewing team received a follow-up training in hand silk-screening by the designer Shaden Abed Elal, who created for them a new tote bag design.

2. We began restoring traditional dress

We commissioned Tala Sandouka, one of a handful of restoration specialists in Palestine, to repair small collections of traditional dresses at our two Bethlehem area partners, the Arab Women’s Union and Women’s Child Care Society, where the dresses will be available for viewing for the local community.  It is part of our efforts in preserving the cultural heritage and making it accessible to anyone, especially the embroiderers and students.

3. We continued working on the production of the Tahriri embroidery book

Throughout the year, we worked on the research, interviews, photographing, and digital illustration for ‘The Book of Tahriri: 27 Essential Motifs and Techniques of Bethlehem Couching Embroidery', and completed the manuscript in English.  We are now working to complete the Arabic translation and launch the book in mid-2026.

4. We began marketing the traditional baskets

The baskets woven with olive branches and wheat stalks from Hares Women's Society, our newest partner, became available at our store and online shop in 2025.   The artisans from Hares village began earning income from the new market access through Sunbula while striving to protect this rural heritge from the nothern West Bank.

5. We resumed the Annual Holiday Bazaar

We resumed our Annual Holiday Bazaar in November after two years of hiatus. Organized in cooperation with the French Cultural Center in Jerusalem, this year’s bazaar was helped by a large number of volunteers, who helped sell the products on behalf of our artisans.

6. We continued supporting the Gaza partners

We continued to raise emergency aid through the crowdfunding for our two Gaza partners, Atfaluna Society and Sulafa Embroidery Centre.  The two organizations have been working tirelessly to provide for the local community a wide range of support, including food distribution, parcels for families, psychosocial support for women and children, safe learning space for students, direct cash assistance for women embroiderers, and restoration of their damaged facilities. Their artisans continued the production of the beautiful work of art despite the unimaginable losses and hardships.

Sunbula's work throughout 2025 was made possible because of your generous support. Our heartfelt gratitude and best wishes for a more hopeful year in 2026.   

Links:

• Sunbula Website + Online Shop
• Send Urgent Aid to Civil Society Groups in Gaza

This year, now at the halfway point, has been marked with increased hardships in the communities across the West Bank.  On every visit to our partners, we see the encrouchment of settlements, outposts and military areas on Palestinian lands.  Movement restrictions are getting tighter from new checkpoints, barriers and military gates.  Many of our artisans have experienced military raids, descrution of their properties and looting of their valuables by the Israeli soldiers.  Some of their family members have lost their homes and livestocks in the settler attacks.  More recently, the war between Israel and Iran paralized life as economic activities came to a standstill across the country.  

Sunbula, despite many operational obstacles, has managed to keep running our fair trade shop in Jerusalem.  We have provided a sustained income stream to hundreds of artisans, who have became the family breadwinners amidst high unemployment in the prolonged war. 

We have also engaged in the following activities to capacite our artisans and to protect the Paletinian cultural heritage at risk.

Jewlery-making Training with Gaza Designer

We have partnered with the designer Ibrahim Muhtadi from Gaza to upgrade the jewelry production at Noor Al-Qamar project in the Anata Bedouin community.  Ibrahim held the online training sessions to teach the women new skills and knowledge required to produce a new jewelry collection he designed for them.  Stay tuned for its unvailing later this year. 

Upgrading the sewing workshop in Bedouin community

We have upgraded the struture used for the sewing workshop at Noor Al-Qamar.  The original structure was made of scrap materials, and lacked proper protection from the elements.  The new structure, with its solid walls, windows and celining, provides a more comfortable and secure space for the women to work.

Embarking on a new embroidery book

We are working to publish a new embroidery book that focuses on the Bethlehem area ' Tahriri' embroidery.  The book is a sequel to 'Seventeen Embroidery Techniques from Palestine: An Instruction Manual' that came out last summer, and will be the first of its kind to feature technical instructions and an extensive catalog of Tahriri patterns.  The book will come out by the end of this year.

Emergency aid for our Gaza partners

Our two partner groups in Gaza - Atfaluna Society and Sulafa Embroidery Centre - have not stopped their work throughout this war to support the artisan families and community members.  We continue to assist in their most pressing humanitarian needs through our crowdfunding.

Your donations have made possible for us to carry out mission to empower the Palestinian artisans.  Our heartfelt thanks to your generous support. 

Links:

• About Noor Al-Qamar
• About the Tahriri embroidery
• Send Urgent Aid to Civil Society Groups in Gaza