These women are artisans working in the industrial district of Amman. After hand-made olive-wood items have been created in the men’s workshop, these women provide the vital finishing touches delicately sanding them into shape, treating the wood, and adding additional accessories. Some of these women have physical disabilities. Some are Palestinian refugees.
Despite being 49% of the Jordanian population, women make up only 14% of the workforce. This has decreased in recent years, in part, due to covid. This statistic is even harsher for women with physical impairments. Small ethical businesses like Holy Land Designs work with this disenfranchised group to provide much-needed opportunities to develop skills. These women have experienced life-changing effects from being allowed to work; deaf women learning to communicate through signing for the first time, previously being seen as dependants and even a shame on their community becoming breadwinners and honoured family members, the opportunity to send their kids to high school and university becoming an achievable aspiration, and becoming a valued member of their work family.
Since starting to work, Rae (name changed upon request) says she has been able to find sisterhood; “We are here as one family, we are not only working but are an interdependent family in our work.” She is Palestinian-Jordanian and has a physical impairment making it hard for her to walk. She is an expert when it comes to the intricate finishing touches of the various products; packing each order and tying delicate designs onto carvings. “The thing I love most (working in) is accessories, and the creativity of it.”. She is working towards buying her own home and hopes she can send her children to university.
Rihanna (name changed upon request) was born deaf. She had few ways of communicating until she started working at Holy Land Designs. There she learned to write and sign and is now able to express herself well. Through her work she has been able to fashion a dignity that was previously denied to her. She is a treasure to her family; now able to communicate with her son and provide an income.
A Jordanian family visiting the Citadel ruins in Amman, Jordan on a national holiday. During the pandemic, Jordan encouraged its citizens to visit and engage with the historical sites throughout Jordan which were previously mostly tourist attractions.
The men's workshop; creating a bowl.
A piece of woodwork being finished with beeswax.
other images taken for holy land designs
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