Lu'aba Hileva ("Beautiful Doll")

Lu'aba Hilweh ("Beautiful Doll") is a joint venture of women and girls from Khan al-Ahmar with women from the "Friends of the Jahalin" group. It all began in 2018 when the village was on the verge of demolition by the government. Yael Moav and Anat Sharel, founders of Friends of the Jahalin, responded to the request of Eid, the head of the community, and formed a group of women and girls who gathered together for leisure and fun activities and later joined forces with designer Galia Hai, in the hope of a more professional endeavor that could allow women to earn an independent income. Thus was born "Lu'aba Hilweh." Since then, the future of the village has not been clarified and it is still in danger, but the women's project has grown stronger: for over three years, twenty-five women and girls from fifteen different families have created hundreds of hand-embroidered dolls. "Beautiful Doll," a Bedouin doll from the Jahalin tribe, is the ambassador of Khan al-Ahmar. It tells the story of the village, the tribe and its women. The sale of the dolls provides income for women suffering from severe poverty, in a community where many of the men are unemployed. A significant framework has been created that provides emotional support for the partnership, creating a climate of friendship, mutual help and cooperation between the women. The craft of embroidery has returned to be part of village life and women are teaching their daughters to embroider. The project provides women with a place for expression and self-esteem, for creativity and joy.