Supporting women, Palestine, fair-trade, and spreading messages of peace through beautiful embroidery!? Yes, it's possible.

Women in Hebron is a non-profit, fair trade cooperative located in "the heart of The Old City" and run by empowered Palestinian women striving to provide for their families and communities. In their own words, 
"Our work is based on the idea that developing Palestinian handicrafts is more than just an income-generating project. It is in of itself an act of community-strengthening, of honoring the role of women in our society, and a means to show sumud – steadfastness – in the face of the occupation of Palestine and the harm it has done to the people of Hebron."
Palestinian embroidery is incredibly intricate, beautiful, and all done by hand. Usually, this is the recipe that creates quite the dent in your wallet, but at Women in Hebron, this is not the case. From jewelry to backpacks to carpets, their products are incredibly affordable for most budgets ( just $10 for a "Women Can Do Anything" Bag!? *swoon*)

Unfortunately, traditional Palestinian embroidery has also been used in various brands as a form of cultural appropriation, meaning that while it may seem supportive of a cause by spreading traditional patterns/symbols of a culture to a larger audience, without proper description or attribution to the culture/practice just normalizes and integrates the patter/symbol into mainstream society, loosing all meaning of its original purpose. As cultural appropriation seems to have taken quite the liking in the fashion industry, I'll be dedicating a post to the topic at a later time, so stay tuned if you're interested! (: (I've gotten so much better at staying on track/talking about only one thing at a time, right!? I've been practicing!) 

By supporting Women in Hebron, you are supporting a beautiful cause, the empowerment of women, preservation of a historic culture, fair-trade practices,...and your style (: 

Not to mention that, now that my birthday is sort of coming up (4 months is not that long, right?) I'm going to have to add that these are so perfect for gifting--for yourself for reading this essay of a post (let's be honest--you deserve it!)--and for your loved ones (wink wink hint hint). Below are a few of my favorites from their cooperative:


1. Wool-Pocket Hanging
2. Place-Mat
3. Multi-Coin Necklace
4. Coin Necklace
5. 2-Zipper "Khalil" pouch
6. "Peace and Justice for Palestine" wall hanging
7. Dove Pouch
8. Pillow Case
9. Pillow Case

Or, you can support them by liking their Facebook or following on Pintrest!

Which one is your favorite? 

Why did I pick to feature this organization? Find out a bit more about what is going on in Israel & Palestine.

P.S. Sorry about the lateness of this post going up--I may or may not have gotten distracted with watching Orange is the New Black.... #whoops

<(')

-If you enjoyed this post and want to support this organization, please spread the word!-