Paul Calvert spoke with the Holy Land Handicraft Cooperative about their aim to provide work for Palestinian people and bringing the community together.

Basma: Yes, Jesus was born here, Jesus rose from the dead here, so this means a lot for us. The pilgrims are coming here to see these kind of places, so we have to be here.

It's very nice at Christmas time when we are celebrating but we are seeing that each year there are less people. We really feel that the organisations have to help us to keep Christianity here.

Paul: Is there strength and benefit to being in a cooperative?

Basma: Yes of course, when there is an organisation like ours, that is giving a fair price, they feel comfortable. Of course there are a lot of people that are asking for a very high price, so I tell them, "Please we want to give you a fair price. But at the same time help us to be competitive." We have souvenirs and they are helping the local market, but you know the situation here, we don't have stability so it could change.

We have a lot of customers outside of Europe, in the United States and in many countries, so this supports our people when the situation changes here. We are also sending a lot of our products abroad, this is what gives us stability. We have some organisations that are ordering our products all the time so we know that a certain organisation, at least, is going to make big orders so the people here will have work and something to do during the year.

Paul: Is it difficult to export out of Palestine?

Basma: Now it is easier, but to import it's more difficult. To export is not easy, as we don't have a border. If we need to send a small letter, it has to be through Israel because we don't have a border. It is more expensive as we have to give directly to an Israeli broker, or give it to a Palestinian broker and from the Palestinian broker to the Israeli broker.

Paul: Are countries like China a problem for cheap imports?

Basma: Yes, it's one of the issues that we are trying to improve. We spoke with the ministry of tourism and with many other organisations.

China's products shouldn't come here, because it's not fair. It can come here, but what is not fair is that they are selling these kind of products as a Palestinian product, which I think is damaging our reputation. When a pilgrim or a tourist comes here and buys a product that is from China and they are told that this is olive wood and handmade, and they return to their home and find out that it's not olive wood and it's not handmade, they will think that Palestinians are not good people. We can have Chinese products, but it has to be recognised. This is one of the things that we have to do and we are trying to improve. But we have to do it together, we have to find people who can help us with this.

Paul: Do many producers have cash flow problems?

Basma: Yes in many cases they have, because the wood is expensive. In some cases we can support them to buy it. We have some people who are in a good situation and there are many others that aren't. Those who aren't depend on us.

Paul: Is the handicraft industry in danger of disappearing, and are there less people working in handicraft today than there were say 20 years ago?

Basma: Yes especially with mother of pearl. The raw material is very expensive and in many countries they say that it is bad for the environment because it is being taken from the sea. This is why it is disappearing. Also, the mother of pearl is damaging their health, this is why we made one of the workshops in a very good situation and changed where they were working.