Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Like a beehive, under one roof, six sisters from Gaza share roles using needle and thread to sew the veins of the brightly colored Palestinian peasant dress with precision and beauty, and they race against time to finish it in preparation for export.
Within the “Six Flowers” project, the sisters integrated their work and took the craft of agricultural embroidery as their source of livelihood, after challenging unemployment and the lack of job opportunities, investing in their diverse skills to achieve success.
The daughters of the Shashaa family hold university degrees, but they decided to forge a path together in another field. They are Nour - 31 years old - graduate in computer engineering, Nadreen - 30 years old - interior design, Baddour - 29 years old - social service, Basma - 26 years old - guidance, novel - 24 years old - medical tests, and Heba - 22 years old - rights.
The project produces various handicrafts, including the Palestinian dress, embroidered handbags, antiques, household utensils, and pillows, all of which bear the Palestinian heritage, and are being marketed “online” so that they have been able to reach several Arab and European markets.
About the beginning of the idea, Bodour says: “We have had the talent for agricultural embroidery since we were young, and we used to use our summer vacations to learn this craft. Sometimes we learn some designs during school lessons on home economics, and our mother helps us with that.” She added: “After we graduated from university, it was difficult for us to find job opportunities due to the known reality. In the beginning, we started making specific designs at the family and neighbor level, and after we found encouragement and admiration for our work, we created a page on Facebook that we called “The Six Flowers.” This idea was my father’s before his death. Because he wanted to guarantee our future in light of the difficult living conditions in the Gaza Strip.”
Day after day, the “Six Flowers” project began to grow and develop, which prompted them to attract workers from outside the family, and there are 20 women currently working with them and providing a source of income for their families.
Other goals
The goal of the “Six Flowers” project was not only financial, as Baddour explains: “We do not deny that the main goal of the embroidery project is to search for alternatives for us and create a job and livelihood opportunity, but there are other goals for us as Palestinian women. We wanted to encourage brides to buy Palestinian dresses.” Embroidered with Palestinian veins as an alternative to white dresses, this is part of our heritage that our mothers and grandmothers used to hold on to during our Palestinian weddings. Therefore, we work on knitting dresses whose origins go back to the original town from which the bride was displaced before the Nakba of 1948, and this allows us to preserve our heritage in the face of what it is suffering from obliteration. ".
The "Six Flowers" project faces several obstacles, most notably the siege and closure of crossings, which prevent some raw materials from reaching Gaza and their high prices. They also face the difficulty of marketing outside the Strip.
“The Six Flowers” aspires to open a factory that includes the largest number of female Gazan workers, spread the culture of acquiring heritage pieces bearing the Palestinian identity in all countries of the world, and establish craft centers to teach the profession of agricultural embroidery.
source
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
: From
To