Women in Hebron is a Palestinian nonprofit fair trade cooperative established under the Idna Cooperative Association for Embroidery and Handicrafts. Idna is a mid-sized Palestinian city of around 25,000 people, located to the southwest of Hebron in the West Bank.
Women in Hebron helps women in the Hebron district provide for themselves and their families through the production and sales of Palestinian handicraft items. Our work began in 2005, when we began selling items in the Old City Souq (market) of Hebron in the occupied H2 sector, a short distance from the Ibrahimi Mosque. Since 2005, Women in Hebron has grown from a small table along the main thoroughfare of the market to a permanent fixture in the Old City. As a result of our handicraft sales through Women in Hebron, The Idna Cooperative Association has been able to open a small community center in the village of Idna, where members of the association can gather together to do their work, take part in educational programs, and socialize with their peers.
The one hundred and fifty women who produce the items we sell come from a eight cities and villages in the Hebron district. 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.
