“Craft is an identity,” Palestinian-American designer Yasmeen Mjalli tells from her studio in Ramallah in the West Bank. It’s why she decided to set up , a label that celebrates weavers and embroiderers across Palestine, back in 2017 (Nöl is the Arabic word for loom). “The idea was to be super hyperlocal: sourcing the materials here, working with as many people as we could throughout Palestine, working with women directly instead of factories, as well as talking about Palestinian heritage and history through fashion,” she explains.
That’s become even more important since the devastating began last October. The collective has rallied together to support weavers and their families whose lives have been upended by Israel’s eight-month bombardment of the occupied Palestinian territory. In January, Mjalli, together with Palestinian historian NA Mansour, set up a to help brothers Husam and Waheed, who were displaced several times in the first few months (Husam’s weaving workshop and home were completely destroyed).
More than $100,000 (£80,000) was raised, allowing Husam, his wife, his children and two of Waleed’s children to flee from Gaza and reach Cairo. Waleed, meanwhile, is still awaiting a medical evacuation, with his wife and two of his other children staying behind with him. “What the community at Nöl did for me and my family is the reason we are where we are,” Husam says via email.
“Without this support, we could have been killed or injured. We .
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