<div>We’re fundraising to support the last weavers of Majdalawi textile, an iconic Palestinian textile once woven in the town of al Majdal and was revived by Palestinian weavers living in Gaza. We at <a href="https://nolcollective.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nol Collective</a> (based in Palestine) <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/weavers-in-gaza" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previously fundraised</a> to evacuate weavers earlier in 2024, many of whom have been part of our fashion collective for years. We managed to evacuate Husam Zaqout, who was taught along with his brother Waleed how to weave in the Majdalawi tradition by their father. We’re collecting funds again now to support those evacuated weavers set up a workshop in Cairo and also go to support weavers still in Gaza, as well as begin to document the history of Majdalawi weaving.
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<div><strong>Evacuation</strong>
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<div>The journey was nothing short of harrowing. At 6 am on
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<div>March 20th, Husam, his wife, his 4 children, &amp; 3 of his brother’s children piled into 2 cars to make their way to Rafah border crossing. The initially planned route was blocked &amp; instead, they were forced to take a more dangerous one. It was not a decision Husam made lightly, knowing they could be killed. Husam recalled the moment in the front seat of the car when he turned to look back at his wife &amp; children in the back seat and saw the terror in their eyes.
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<div>They made it to the crossing where they waited all day, breaking their fast there. It was not until 2 am that they finally reached Cairo. Once they crossed, they stopped at a mini market to buy food. His kids jumped with shock &amp; joy at the first sight of chocolate and chips since before the war. All 9 of them are now in an apartment in Cairo, close to extended family.
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<div><strong>Fundraising Goals</strong>
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<li><strong>Nurturing Majdalawi Fabric</strong>: On April 11th, Husam reached out to ask if we’d be willing to help him open a weaving studio in Cairo to keep Majdalawi fabric alive &amp; to give him financial independence after being uprooted and losing his home and workshop. Without hesitation, we agreed to support him however we could. Husam promptly started work with a carpenter to create the loom, is searching for a workshop space, &amp; is sourcing cotton threads &amp; sewing machines.
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</ul><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/81311475_1720604364716926_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
<div>(Husam with the loom he’s had built in Cairo, June 2024)
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<li><strong>Archiving</strong> <strong>Oral</strong> <strong>History</strong>: we want to use this moment to document what happened to the Majdalawi weaving tradition during the Nakba in 1948 and since then. We want to undertake an archival project, focusing on oral history.We will do a round of interviews with weavers and the descendants of weavers, as well as transcribe them. Our budget would go tohonorarium for Palestinians interviewees. Any transcribers we hire would likely be Gazan Palestinians. Our goal is to direct money towards our community, instead of hiring outside expertise.
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<li><strong>Support</strong> <strong>More</strong> <strong>Weavers</strong>: There are 7 other weavers who remain in Gaza and are struggling. They all worked in another weaving workshop in the old city of Gaza which was started by the al Khodari family. We are aiming to send each weaver and their family 2000 USD to help them with necessities.
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<div>Cost breakdown
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<li>Nurturing Majdalawi Fabric: 25,000 USD
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<li>Archiving Oral History: 5000 USD
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<li>Support More Weavers (8 in total): 16,000 USD
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Help Gaza Weavers Preserve Majdalawi Textiles

Still $13,064 to go. Help us build momentum.