I recently read about the Sindyanna Center, located in Kufr Manda. This is a town in the Galilee region of Israel. The center has become a place where Arab and Jewish women can meet and weave baskets.
The baskets they make here, look absolutely lovely. Visitors are invited to take a tour of the center, which includes:
- A short film
- A tour of the facilities
- A question-and-answer session about the organization
- A meeting with the basket weavers
- A demonstration of weaving palm frond baskets
- A visit to their store, where the baskets are sold at reasonably low prices.
In addition to the hand-made baskets, other store items include such Fair Trade products as: olive oil, soap, honey, carob syrup, and spices.
I think it would be wonderful to visit this center, where both Arab and Jewish women are working to empower themselves economically through their artistry. If there was also an opportunity for me to try my own hand at basket weaving - I would be thrilled to bits. For some reason, the ancient crafts of Israel seem so attractive to me. Not to mention, how neat it would be to meet some of the local Arab & Jewish artisans in the Galilee region.
