Celebrate With Purpose: Buy Your Eid Gifts This Year From These Seven MENA-Based Small Businesses Highlighting Palestinian Heritage While there are plenty of options out there to support the people of Palestine through this crisis, one way to do so is by helping keep their culture alive.
By Entrepreneur Middle East Staff Edited by Aby Sam Thomas
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Ramadan 2024 has been marked amid a humanitarian crisis that's been unfolding in Palestine owing to the war in Gaza, which has been ongoing for six months now. While there are plenty of options out there to support the people of Palestine through this crisis, one way to do so is by helping keep their culture alive.
With Ramadan now coming to a close and Eid ul Fitr expected to fall on April 8 or 9 this year, one would be on the lookout for gifts to offer loved ones, and we at Entrepreneur Middle East have thus compiled a list of seven MENA-based small businesses with products that make for great presents, while also highlighting Palestinian heritage and history. Check them all out below:
1. NABTIH BY CYPHER URBAN ROASTERY Nabtih, an initiative by Dubai-based specialty coffee roaster Cypher Urban Roastery that encourages sustainability and fair trade within supply chain practices, offers a wide range of handmade products and items sourced directly from local makers in the Levant region throughout the year. For this Ramadan, the Nabtih collection has come up with two distinct gift baskets, the Ramadan Blessings Basket as well as the Gifts of Gratitude: Ramadan Basket.
Each basket features gifts sourced directly from Palestinian makers, including two capsules of zaatar (a powder made of ground-dried thyme, mixed with toasted sesame seeds, lemon salt, and sumac) and Jenin olive oil, as well as a traditional breadbasket and a tote bag in a bid to promote Palestinian craftsmanship.
2. KINZZI If you're looking to buy gifts that are a perfect culmination of luxury as well as Palestinian heritage, then Dubai-based KINZZI, which was built with a mission to support emerging designers and undiscovered brands, might be for you. The KINZZI platform's dedicated "Forever Palestine" collection by regional Palestinan jewelry brand Tiba Jewelry offers Palestine-inspired necklaces and bracelets carefully crafted with gold, diamonds, and other precious stones.
For example, its Palestine Outline Map Necklace -that has been worn by the likes of supermodel Gigi Hadid- features rubies, emeralds, white and black diamonds, and comes in rose gold, yellow gold, or white gold finish.
3. COLORING PALESTINE Offering international delivery, this startup -based across the UAE, Lebanon, and Bahrain- sells coloring books that incorporate motifs commonly used in tatreez (a form of traditional Palestinian embroidery) and ceramics.
Built by a family of Palestinian diaspora, Coloring Palestine was created with a mission to preserve the memories of Palestinian creativity, while also promising moments of tranquility to those who use the coloring books. What's more, work-in-progress pieces as well as finished artwork can be shared on the startup's official Instagram!
4. FYROUZI Fyrouzi is a Dubai-based outlet that offers premium hand-crafted ceramics from Palestine, including a wide-ranging line of tableware as well as wall decorations and wood ceramic trays. An immediately noticeable feature of Fyrouzi's collection of ceramic bowls, plates, and cups is that they're heavily laden with turquoise designs- a color that has, for generations, been incorporated into the art of making Palestinian handmade ceramics.
In fact, the color has inspired the name of the startup itself, with Fyrouzi translating to turquoise in Arabic. Each uniquely designed ceramic piece goes through a week-long process, wherein they are dried, cleaned, and smoothed before being fired in a 540-degree celsius oven for one day. The artists then draw and paint the patterns that represent Palestine's rich ceramic heritage.
5. JEEL DESIGN Built with the purpose of preserving Palestinian heritage through preserving the nation's art of embroidery, Dubai-based Jeel Design offers accessories and garments ranging from abayas and kittans, to headbands, cushions, and tote bags, all delicately laced with embroidery techniques that can be dated back to pre-1970s Palestine.
In its commitment to fully imbue the country's culture and heritage into its modern day offerings, the Jeel Design team has been consistently collecting old Palestinian dresses for the past 40 years. What's more, the startup has also been committed to sustainable practices by upcycles existing embroidered pieces into new, unique ones.
6. PALESTINE.ME Sourcing its products directly from Palestinian factories and creative artisans and entrepreneurs, Palestine.me is a platform that offers ethical Palestinian products and handcrafts. While the website offers minimally designed apparel such as its watermelon t-shirts (for both kids and adults), it also offers more exquisitely designed products such as the kitchenware line-up that includes chopping boards and trays made entirely from Palestinian olive tree wood.
For the tiny tots that you'd like to gift this month, Palestine.me also offers a Tell Me About Palestine children's book as well as a kuffiyeh (traditional Palestinian scarves) bib embroidered with a watermelon.
7. MADEENA THE DOLL If you're looking to celebrate the strong women and girls in your life this Eid, then you might want to consider Madeena The Doll's handcrafted dolls that come with hand embroidered dresses. Take, for example, the Thobe Jenin doll which, inspired by the women of the Palestinian town of Jenin, comes with a simple dress, a floral kaftan and is accessorized with a tiny belt.
Madeena The Doll also offers a special doll collection, named "Press," which was initially created to honor the memory of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, and now also represent the resilience and spirit of the people of Gaza.
Related: "This War Cannot Be The End Of My Story" - An Aspiring Entrepreneur In Gaza Tells His Tale
