 |
 |
 |
|
|
| |
The Kalandia Camp Womens
Handicraft Cooperative
is a non-profit,
non-governmental
organization established
in 1958 by the
initiative of 20 women
refugees from the
Kalandia Refugee Camp,
located in the outskirts
of Jerusalem. It is the
first womens society
established and
registered at the
Palestinian refugee
level, and the second
womens cooperative on
both banks of the Jordan
River. Since its
inception, the number of
women members has
increased to reach 185
in 2000. |
|
An
executive committee of 9
volunteers administers
the Cooperative; and it
currently employs 25
full-time employees and
over 1500 part-time
women workers from the
refugees camps, villages
and towns of Palestine.
A year after its
establishment, the
Cooperative only owned a
small room in the
Kalandia Refugee Camp.
As a result of the
efforts of all the women
members and workers,
nowadays the Cooperative
operates in a
three-story building.
The Cooperative pursues
nine general goals,
which guide our efforts
to assist the community
of women in Palestine.
These are: |
 |
-
To raise the
cultural, social,
educational and
economic standards
of women in refugee
camps, villages and
cities throughout
Palestine.
-
To fight illiteracy
and ignorance among
Palestinian men,
women and children.
-
To assist
Palestinian students
of all levels in
their efforts to
obtain a valuable
education.
-
To protect and
exhibit traditional
Palestinian
handicrafts in order
to preserve the
Palestinian popular
heritage and
strengthen the
Palestinian cultural
identity.
-
To generate
employment
opportunities for
Palestinian women.
-
To promote cultural
and educational
exchange between the
Cooperativeand
institutions in
other countries.
-
To cultivate the
Cooperatives
relations with other
Palestinian
institutions and
leading
personalities such
as local unions,
charitable
societies,
hospitals,
cooperatives,
academics and
politicians.
-
To locate and
develop internal and
external markets for
its various
products.
-
To expand its
activities for the
benefit of all of
its members and the
Palestinian
community as a whole
|
|
The
Cooperatives activities
can be divided into
three different
sections: |
|
|
|
Income generated from
the production section
contributes to financing
the two other sections
as well as covering the
operating cost of the
Cooperative. The revenue
from the production of
handicrafts and quilts
is instrumental in
ensuring that the
service provision and
vocational training
sections are maintained.
These sections are
essential for the
Cooperative because we
believe that the
services we provide to
the community constitute
the key to the
empowerment of marginal
refugee households.
These services include: |
-
A Nursery for
children 2 months to
3 years of age.
-
A Kindergarten for
children 3-5 years
of age.
-
Summer Camps for
children from the
Kalandia Camp and
surrounding areas.
-
Periodic Literacy,
Family Planning and
Health Education
Campaigns.
-
Short-Term Courses
on Marketing,
Home-Economics,
Entrepreneurial
Skills and other
Income-Generating
Projects.
-
Long-Term Training
Courses on Knitting,
Quilting, Sewing,
Food Processing and
Hairdressing for
Palestinian women.
|
|
These
services facilitate
access to education for
children and adults,
while also preparing
mothers to enter the
labor market and make a
decent living. The
Cooperative currently
subsidizes most of these
activities with funds
from revenues and
donations. However, once
children have gained
better access to
education and mothers
have obtained better
opportunities in the
labor market, the
Cooperative will be able
to charge higher fees,
which in the future will
suffice to cover the
cost of providing these
valuable services.
The Cooperative believes
that improving the
conditions of women and
children is a key step
in the development of a
healthier society.
Therefore, all of the
Cooperatives efforts are
directed towards the
general goal of raising
the educational, social,
cultural and health
standards of women and
children in Palestine,
and ensuring that
through their
empowerment they will
play leading roles in
their society. |
|
|
|
|
|
