Handmade Jewelry
We feature hand cut brass jewelry made by women in Beit Doqo, just outside of Jerusalem, as well as sterling silver olive leaf jewelry from Zaytouna Jewelry in Bethlehem.
Beit Doqo is a small village where a local cooperative has allowed much of the community, especially women there, to generate income through agricultural, food producing and jewelry making work. The cooperative is a member of Sunbula fair trade in Palestine, which brings the brass plates and trains the women on the work and new designs.
The sterling silver olive leaf jewelry is not only exquisite, but also one of a kind. Each leaf is from the cast of an actual Bethlehem olive leaf, and that cast is used only once. The sterling silver is from a local refinery in Hebron. Though other artisans have begun replicating the work of Nadira al Araj, who designs this Silver Zaytouna Jewelry, Nadira’s work stands out for its excellence. Her partners, Samer Kattan and his father, are excellent silversmiths.
All purchases from Handmade in Palestine support fair trade artisans and 100% of the profit is donated to a local not for profit to plant trees and protect Palestine’s environment.
