Our new shop opened on April 14th, after months of renovating a beautiful, old Arab house - a perfect setting for showcasing the traditional crafts. 

The house has a charming, small garden, with lemon and orange trees, flowers, herbs, and a sixty-year old turtle!


(Photo: The street entrance of the new shop.  A passage through the garden leads to our front door.)

The opening was a very successful event, attended by more than 100 people who showered us with smiles and congratulations.
 
Representatives of Consulate of Belgium and Consulate of France, our donors that helped making this new venture possible, were among those who attended the opening reception.


(Photo: Mr. Gerard Cockx, the Consul General of Belgium in
Jerusalem, is thanked by Sam Husseini, a Sunbula board member.)

This is an exciting new chapter for Sunbula.  The new shop's prime location at the heart of East Jerusalem will enable us to reach out to a wider audience.  By boasting our marketing efforts, we plan to respond more effectively to the income-generation needs in the Palestinian community.


(Photo: Mr. Benoît Tadié, the head of French Cooperation in Jerusalem, addresses the crowd.)

We were very happy to have with us the women artisans from our producer groups based in the West Bank, thanks to the French Consulate that obtained the permit for them to travel to Jerusalem for the occasion.  (Palestinians are not free to travel in and out of the occupied territory without the Israeli army's permission.)

A big, heartfelt thanks to our friends, supporters, and donors that made the establishment of House of Palestinian Crafts possible. 


(Photo: Sunbula staff, volunteer, board members and the women artisans gather at the garden of House of Palestinian Crafts.)