The 2nd Palestinian Heritage Festival showcased some fascinating products,
highlighting why Palestinian art is still an inspiration for many. By Umer Nangiana
Bringing together artisans from different areas of the land of Palestine and showcasing how the ancient art and culture has survived and thrived in the face of all odds, the 2nd Palestinian Heritage Festival, organised in co-operation with the Palestinian National Friendship Association, recently concluded at Katara Cultural Village.
Displaying both contemporary and traditional art forms, the Palestinian artisans, mostly women, demonstrated their skill level to Doha audience. From embroidered clothes to olive-wood art pieces, the Palestinian artists showed why Palestinian art is still an inspiration for many.
“We established the first factory of aluminium jewellery in Palestine. We can make customised designs of our clients. This jewellery is very light-weight and you can create a lot of designs with it. It is as attractive as Russian and Italian gold. We can create the same effect with aluminium,” Sana Jafri, owner of a company in Palestine, told Community.
Her colleague creates designs on olive wood. “This is all handmade at home. I first carve the designs into wood by burning and cutting into it and then apply colours and dyes,” she adds.
The designs are mostly original. She creates whatever came to her mind and at other times she gets ideas from internet as well. The smaller artefacts are easy to make but the bigger pieces like photo frames and decoration pieces take time as they require colouring. Colour takes time to dry. But she does it all by herself at home.
Khalid Natsheh’s family has been into leather business for decades. Coming from Jerusalem, he brought with him leather bags and cases. “This is pure leather coming from the old city of Jerusalem. I have bags for men, women both professionals and students. I sell laptop bags, hand bags, document carriers and others,” says Natsheh.
“I have created all designs. I have this business in my family. My father and my brothers are also involved in it and we have been doing it for a very long time. The business back in Jerusalem is good because a lot of people buy these bags for their office use or for keeping their laptops,” he adds.
It was his first time coming to Qatar and he found people here “very nice.” “We got a lot of tourists and they really liked my products,” adds Natsheh.
Manal Jarrar and her colleagues are hoping to find an avenue for expanding their olive products business here in Qatar, and elsewhere. They produce and package all the traditional Palestinian food from the City of Jenin at their home-based production centre.
“We are a group of women who make these olive products at home. It helps us generate some income for us and support our families. We create a lot of traditional Arab and Palestinian food and then pack them in the jars,” Manal tells us.
These olives are pitted and then dipped in olive oil. These and the zataar come from Jenin, famous for their taste. From production to packaging and labelling, they do everything by themselves at their homes.
“We create the designs for the labels and then get them printed before putting them on the bottles. The prints are also handmade, all of them. No machine is involved in the process at any time,” says Manal.
She says they have been taking their products to different countries in the region like Kuwait and others. This was their first time in Doha. “I am really encouraged by the response that we received here. People tasted our products and they really liked them,” says the owner of the company.
“We are looking for good business opportunities outside of Palestine as well and we (all women at the company) intend to expand our business further and make this a big company and I am determined to achieve that,” she adds.  
Situated at a crossroads of continents and civilisations, accommodating a number of peoples and empires since the old times, the art and artisan work of Palestine depicts an infusion of multiple cultural influences while maintaining its own individuality.
Bringing a piece of this rich cultural heritage, men and women artisans from different areas of Palestine have come to town to showcase the rich and colourful Palestinian heritage through traditional clothes, food and arts.
From the centuries-old art of pottery-making, living for generations with the people of Palestine, to the more contemporary art of Silver Olive Leaf Jewellery, the festival presented artefacts that are unique to Palestine.