Joint Ventures for Peace

Established in spring 2009 by the Shorouq Society for Women (www.shorouqsociety.org) and NISPED with support from the Canadian government, Joint Ventures for Peace brings together Palestinian and Israeli women entrepreneurs and artists to work as equal partners and create a unique discourse on peace. This innovative project couples dialogue with creative business development.

Through joint seminars, business development sessions and one-on-one meetings in both Israel and Palestine, pairs of Israeli and Palestinian women have created joint products targeted for local and international markets. No less important, the women learned about one another’s lives and perspectives, bridging the barriers that increasingly divide the two peoples.

Today, Shorouq and NISPED are launching the project's second phase which will build from lessons learned in order to add an additional cohort of Palestinian and Israeli women entrepreneurs, and to expand the training and other support provided to all of the women in the service of the co-design, co-marketing and co-development of projects. The second phase will also build on the existing dialogue amongst the women in order to disseminate visions of peace developed within the project's bounds.

Centered in Beersheva, Israel and Beit Jalah, Palestine, the program hopes to touch the lives of scores of Israeli and Palestinian women, their families and communities. Moreover, the program's message of viable and sustainable Israeli-Palestinian cross border collaboration will be delivered to key stakeholders in Israel and Palestine, the Middle East and globally.

Our Next Steps:

Promoting access to microfinance

NISPED and Shorouq are establishing ties with micro-financing sources operating in Palestine and Israel to help the women entrepreneurs access the capital necessary to expand their businesses.

Website

A website will be developed to provide participating women with a platform to display and market their products and to share the women’s experiences and visions of peace. The website will also provide opportunities for knowledge sharing and the inclusion of others who are not actively engaged in this initiative, but are part of communities of interest in Israel and Palestine.

Expansion of Marketing Channels

Contacts are being sought to promote the marketing of the products with fair trade associations and retail buyers, as well as with various civil society actors working to promote both economic development in Palestine and peaceful relations between Israel and Palestine.

Cooking Peace Joint Art Exhibit

Guided by an Israeli and a Palestinian artist, both of whom are part of the first cohort, each woman participant will create a sculpture designed around a cooking pot. These pots will be organized into a group exhibit entitled: Cooking Peace: the Dishes of our Lives. The group also plans to publish a color catalogue including: maps of the regions in which the women live; the women’s stories; and their visions of peaceful relations. The exhibit will be launched in Israel and Palestine and will be available for display internationally in order to spread the women’s visions of peace.

Some of our products

Yoga bags

A Palestinian embroiderer and an Israeli designer produced this beautiful and practical organic cotton yoga bag.

Women Weave Peace

An Israeli woman and three Palestinian colleagues created a special line of baskets made from organic materials from date palms.

They All Sound

Like Love Songs

An Israeli poet composed a series of poems inspired by her experiences in the group. The book is being translated into Arabic by a Palestinian partner.

Little Women

and Beads of Peace

A Palestinian artist and an Israeli ceramicist partnered to produce miniature ceramic dolls, representing Israeli and Palestinian women. This artisan team also designed a special series of hand-painted bead necklaces.

Scarves