L'Arche - Felt Dove Ornament - Palestine
This beautiful felt dove ornament symbolising peace and reconciliation is made out of raw wool purchased from women shepherds in a village on the outskirts of Bethlehem.
Features:
- White felt dove carrying an olive branch inside a heart felt circle
- Hanging loop attached
Producer: L'Arche Bethlehem, Ma’an lil-Hayat project
Ma’an lil-Hayat (meaning Together for Life) is the first and only community project in Palestine that brings together people with and without intellectual disabilities to engage in creative textile-arts activities and share daily life together.
Founded in August 2009, in Bethlehem, Ma’an lil-Hayat is a member of the International Federation of L’Arche Communities, created in 1964 in France (see www.larche.org). Members of Ma’an lil-Hayat use the wool of Bethlehem sheep to make felted wool ornaments, nativity scenes, and other unique gift items, a reflection of the cultural narratives and landscape surrounding Bethlehem.
Ma’an lil-Hayat seeks to affirm and empower people with intellectual disabilities in their claim to adulthood. Meaningful, challenging activities encourage a sense of personal responsibility and genuine participation in the building of civil society. A variety of experiences and activities aid in fostering the development of self-esteem, the ability to make choices, the active participation in a learning environment, and the development of creative skills.
Ma’an lil-Hayat encourages its members to discover and share their talents and abilities, to become more aware of the needs and realities of other people, to work as part of a team, and to acquire a greater sense of personal and communal responsibility. The participation of members with intellectual disabilities in making high-quality beautiful handicrafts enables them to experience the joy of artistic creativity and the social recognition it attracts. And since members of the group with disabilities are unable, because of their disability and the lack of support within the Palestinian community at large, to be employed in ordinary workplaces, the safe environment provided at Ma’an lil-Hayat responds to their specific needs and offers a way for them to have a more “normal” adult routine that fosters a greater sense of self-respect and dignity.