The Importance of Visually Representing a Culture through Indigenous Clothes, Crafts, and Accessories

by Olivia Bastin

If you’re looking for a unique shop in Edinburgh where sustainability is at the heart of each and every one of their products try Hadeel on George Street. Hadeel is a non-profit shop that supports Palestinian artisans and marginalized Palestinian communities to become economically independent through Fair Trade whilst promoting Palestinian culture and traditions. Inside the shop you can find handmade crafts which are not only beautiful but have also helped give the artists behind them a way of surviving while living under occupation, where their human rights are constantly breached and violated. There are countless purses with vibrant geometric designs as well as beautiful waistcoats and bright pillows. In other words, there is something for everyone!  

Intricate beadwork

One of my favorite suppliers in the shop would be Haneen. Established in 2007 in Balata Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp, the Haneen project is an initiative created to help refugees develop skills in various handicrafts. A group of women who received training in handicraft production went on to form an independently run income-generating project showcasing their newly acquired skills. Haneen in Arabic translates to “longing” and symbolizes the refugees’ longing for their ancestral homeland and cultural heritage. The project’s skilled embroiderers stitch with a variety of different techniques in addition to standard common cross-stitching, using local and regional materials like Syrian satin or Hebron leather in their vivid designs.   

Embroidered pillows

Another supplier I really like would be Ma'an lil-Hayat (Together for Life in Hebrew). They are located in Bethlehem and are the first and only wool-felting project in Palestine, founded in August 2009. They encourage people with and without intellectual disabilites to make felted-wool ornaments, nativity sets, and other gift items. The raw wool is bought from local sheperds, which benefits the local economy and is very sustainably minded.

When I first found Hadeel on George Street, I was excited to see Palestinian dresses and crafts. Before COVID I visited a friend in Amman, Jordan and had admired the Palestinian dresses in the shops downtown with their intricate and beautiful beading.  I was immediately delighted to see similar dresses in the shop in Edinburgh. From an anthropological perspective, this visual and aesthetic representation of Palestinian culture was fascinating. I found it interesting that in Amman, I could buy a Palestinian dress or robe without knowing much about the culture, language or traditions of Palestine.  

Beadwork on Palestinian dresses

When buying these Palestinian products from Hadeel, it got me thinking of the anthropological consequences of my purchase. On the one hand, I can see the importance of representing such a beautiful and fascinating culture outside of Palestine itself. Exposing these designs to a Jordanian audience as well as to foreigners like British and American tourists visiting Amman aids in the proliferation of Palestinian culture. The designs of the dresses were stunning and would take skilled embroiderers a long time to produce, as stitching on beads is time-consuming, technical and intricate. However, I wondered how sustainably the dresses that were being sold in downtown Amman had been sourced. There was no information in any of the shops as to who the suppliers were or even who specifically had made these dresses. Additionally, there was no information as to the production conditions the dresses had been made in as well as the sourcing of beads and materials.  

Berber handicraft

I discovered a similar lack of transparency in a marketplace in El Attaouia, a town two hours from Marrakech where yet more Palestinian dresses were being sold. Again, there was no information about suppliers or how sustainably these dresses had been exported to Morocco in the central region of the country under the domain of Marrakech. Even in Marrakech Airport, there was a shop selling Palestinian dresses as well as Berber bracelets and necklaces. The Berber bracelets weren’t labelled telling tourists which of the diverse Berber communities had made them.

The Berbers, or the Amazigh, are spread throughout the Atlas Mountains such as the Chleuh, the Zayanes and the Rifains, whilst the Tureg live in the Sahara Desert. Amazigh (which can be translated to “free men” in English) communities make up around 40 percent of the Moroccan population and have been in Western North Africa since at least 10,000 BC. There are three types of Berber language found in Morocco, showing the linguistic diversity within Amazigh communities. Overall, I found the representation of Berber cultures at Marrakech Airport and in tourist shops to be one-dimensional instead of eclectic and multi-layered.  

Moreover, the lack of information concerning the sustainable sourcing of indigenous crafts and Palestinian dresses throughout North Africa and the Middle East goes deeper. I went to the local market of Attaouia where there was a range of clothes, shoes and bags. When purchasing a beautiful bag featuring a cheetah, I asked the vendor where all the items had come from. He said that they had been sourced from sub-Saharan African countries or parts of Europe and were being sold here for a better price, although I had to haggle for my purchase. The lack of transparent supply chains or information about the suppliers made me question how sustainably these items had been sourced. This was the polar opposite to Hadeel, which had flyers detailing the suppliers they used to stock their shop.  

Cheetah bag purchased in El Attaouia

In conclusion, if you are looking for a shop to buy a lovely purse, bracelet or pillow in Edinburgh then check out Hadeel in George Street, which is very transparent about their supply chains. This shop is making a real difference for marginalized communities in Palestine, and you’ll walk away with some beautiful handicrafts. I loved seeing Palestinian dresses in Hadeel and shops in downtown Amman in Jordan.

However, as the suppliers were not documented in Amman, it was hard to know how sustainably these dresses had been sourced. This was the same case with the Palestinian dresses in the local marketplace in El Attaouia, Morocco and at Marrakech Airport. The Berber bracelets further brought up the lack of information concerning which Berber people had produced them, and the bag I bought highlighted the way in which items can be sold without much information concerning their origins. Overall, when we buy clothes, accessories or bags, it is very important to think about how sustainably the product has been sourced, and transparent supply chains are an important aspect of this.