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Hebron Embroidery Project
(Palestine)

Fair Trade and Peace

The Women and Fair Trade sale includes a number of producer groups that are located in conflict and post-conflict regions. In Palestine, fair trade and the dignified livelihood it can offer are essential to community efforts to break the cycle of violence and create a lasting peace.

Palestinian mother surrounded by her children.

About the Vendor

Tura Campanella Cook got involved in the Hebron Embroidery Project when she was shopping online for fair trade goods and stumbled on their website — she immediately wanted to learn more. Tura is now a volunteer among many that help distribute the beautifully made products although it has been difficult to get an audience for Palestinian work.

About the Producers

The Hebron Embroidery Project is a relief project of the Friendship & Peace Society, a nonprofit organization chartered by the Palestinian Authority to bring together Jews, Muslims, and Christians for friendship and peace in Palestine. Everyone at the Friendship and Peace Society is a volunteer, with the exception of one paid employee in Hebron and the organization is a member of the Fair Trade Federation.

The project helps women who are the sole supporters of their children and other family members by providing them with well-paid

Pictured above is one of the expert embroiderers who teaches others to embroider.

work. The women come from villages around the holy city of Hebron, where there is a very old tradition of embroidery. The beautifully hand-crafted cross-stitched pieces help to feed, clothe, and educate their children. The point is to charge a fair price for the goods. For example some of the dresses cost $200 because they take six months to make.

The older, unmarried daughters often help their mothers with the embroidery, providing an avenue for passing down a tradition to the next generation. Until fairly recently, when a young woman from Hebron got married, she made nine dowry pillows to present to the bridegroom's family as evidence of her skill and her respect for her cultural tradition.

Please visit the Hebron Embroidery Project for more information.

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