Hand Weaving Into Modernity OhmyNews International March 26, 2008 by Yehonathan Tommer Israeli Bedouin women energize tradition to bridge the cultural transition Hagar is an Israeli Bedouin traditional hand weaver. She administers a non-profit crafts and arts association in the Negev Bedouin town Lakiya that commissions jobs among 150 housewives working from their homes in neighboring Bedouin communities. Hagar speaks eloquently, her eyes shining with pride, as she describes the 16-year-old project that has imbued Bedouin women living in a transitional society between patriarchic tradition and modernity with a new found sense of personal recognition and self-esteem. Her weavers are mothers of seven, eight or more children. Modern urban and semi-urban society has relieved them of many time-consuming household chores. Fewer male breadwinners make a rural livelihood from farming and grazing sheep, goats or camels. In traditional Bedouin societies the women were equal partners in the family economy helping with crops and harvesting, building tents, tending herds in addition to their many household chores. Bedouins Between Tradition and Modernity Today the Bedouin husband is more likely to be employed as a factory hand or a car mechanic in a neighboring town. Basic foodstuffs and packaged goods can be bought in the marketplace or supermarket while household appliances cut the time spent on daily household chores. With their younger children in school and the older ones out working, many women find they are less occupied at home, be it a shanty style tent settlement or in a regular, urbanized community. Some 170,000 Bedouins live a traditional ethnic lifestyle in Israel's northwestern Negev, most of them in seven recognized urban and semi-urban settlements that receive a local government approved municipal budget, which basically covers services. This amounts to 30 percent less than the budget allocated to comparable Jewish communities, inadequate to finance infrastructure, development and expansion, says Talal Algrinawi, mayor of Rahat, Israel's largest Bedouin town with 52,000 residents, 62 percent of whom are below the age of 18. The Negev's remaining Bedouin population is dispersed among 45 non-recognized small shantytown communities on land which they legally own, making a living from traditional farming or grazing herds. A further 40,000 Bedouins live the country's north in Galilee in mostly urban towns and cities. Another 1 million live in the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. Weaving as a Cultural Bridge "Weaving carpets and rugs, pillow cases, cushion covers and table cloths or embroidering traditional designs for dresses, purses, handbags, etc. allows women prohibited from employment outside the home to remain within the traditional family and kinship structures," says Hagar. Working at home with crafts in which they are expertly skilled enhances their self-esteem, and the payment they receive reduces some of their dependence and rehabilitates them as contributing partners to the household economy. Not all the men folk are supportive but they are slowly acknowledging its benefits. Through hand weaving Bedouin women in Israel are energizing their traditions and bridging the cultural transition to modernity. A fast weaver will take 8 hours to produce 1 square meter. With minimal interruptions she can complete the task within two days, which earns her 700 Israeli shekels or $175. She is paid for the work whether or not the item is sold. "This is far from big money," says Hagar. "But we have noticed that younger Bedouin women are taking a growing interest in traditional weaving. These skills are handed down from grandmother to daughter and now to granddaughter. This means that the tradition is being preserved as it is passed down to the next generation and this is an extra bonus." Overhead administrative costs, salaries and payment for work, are budgeted from sales, donations and gifts. Bedouin Women Empowerment In addition the weaving center organizes adult education classes for its weavers from each village to teach them math, reading and writing and bookkeeping which naturally empowers them to participate in their children's education and for future entrepreneurship. The woolen yarn is locally hand spun onto wooden reels after it has been washed and dried. It is then dyed in 1 of 34 brilliant colors imported from a British manufacturer who has prepared them to suit the oily fibers of the indigenous Alwassi sheep fleece from which the yarn is produced. Each weaver is supplied with large balls of yarn and a simple design chart and without further explanation she knows exactly what to do. The warpface weave produces a strong, tight and durable product crafted in traditional and modern ethic Bedouin motifs evoking "refinement, beauty and originality," the Web site blurb says. I can vouch for its quality, having seen and personally handled the rugs. The Lakiya Negev Weaving Center has a factory outlet where local and overseas visitors can view and purchase the displayed products. Orders can also be made via their Israeli Web site or US distributor.