BETHLEHEM BEAD PROJECT
...Chasing New Dreams Among Ancient Sands…
"May the sands that supported the feet of Jesus, the holy saints and patriarchs, and the Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, now support our dreams" - The Prayer of Palestinian women working together to create unique, handmade art from nature in the holy land.
ABOUT: Bethlehem Bead Project is a self-sufficiency initiative of Bridges for Bethlehem, a US reg 501c3 charity. Using Fair Trade principles, Bridges for Bethlehem has provided seed money for a limited time to a small group of economically disadvantaged women in the Bethlehem area.
Please Be generous! EVERY CENT we receive is RETURNED to the craftswomen of BBP to help support their families and their DREAMS.*
OUR STORY
Bethlehem Bead Project ...Chasing new dreams among ancient sands...
Bridges For Bethlehem learned of this project while helping a widowed mother and her two daughters with food and utilities. They could not afford gas to cook with in their kitchen and had not eaten meat for months. We fell in love with their desire to create something charming and unique in all the world using natural Palestinian resources. Their dream was to design something to represent the proud heritage of skillful Palestinian women that could not be cheaply imitated or mass produced in other countries. The result of their vision is Bethlehem Bead Project. Their very first beads were made from the village sand where barefooted children play.
HELLO DEAR FRIENDS!! IT’S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!
We just received a shipment of holy land bracelets! They are all extremely lovely, containing holyland sand, olive leaves, dead sea salt, flowers… Stunning!!
You really will be wearing a piece of the holyland!
Please email for details. We have 3 left selling now at half price at ONLY $25 apiece. See our gallery below!
With the war going on there won't be any more of these for a long time.
GALLERY
This time the women have made charm, bracelets, double bracelets, as well as our traditional bracelets that have been so popular!
Hurry to get your one of a kind piece of Palestinian jewelry. We have 3 left!
Please email us with questions and for ordering instructions.
Palestinian charm bracelets
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$50
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$50
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$50
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$50
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$50
Our beloved friend, Greek Orthodox Priest, Father Issa Thaljieh, of Nativity Church, blesses the bracelets of Bethlehem Bead Project, in Bethlehem.
The Basilica of the Nativity:
This famous, sacred ground, the birthplace of Jesus, the oldest Christian church in the world, is the perfect place to bestow a blessing upon the fruits of the women and girls of BBP who pray, “May the sands that supported the feet of Jesus, the prophets and patriarchs, now support our dreams!”
PAINTING FOR PEACE!
The women of Bethlehem Bead Project are budding artists from tiny Palestinian villages near Bethlehem in the West Bank— mostly young mothers with big families and beautiful names like Maram, Aseel, Iman, Rabiha, Aziza, Sarah…
We weep at the joy of life, the sorrow of loss, the strength of connection to land and family, and the weariness of wondering how much longer will it be before freedom is within reach… If not for us, for our children?
Yet above all we live and breathe with constant gratitude to God, Alhamdullah, for all of the above, every second of our lives.
Our message to the world is, “tears don’t make us less strong or less of a woman, they make us more human, and InshaAllah, equally deserving of justice, freedom, security, and peace.”
MEET SOME OF THE WOMEN AND GIRLS OF
BETHLEHEM BEAD PROJECT
Some of these lovely women prefer to remain unknown to the public, but here are a few faces eager to greet you!
ASEEL
Aseel is in high school and is our very best shopper. She makes bracelets of all kinds, including chic, corded bracelets for younger girls. It was her idea to implement the beautiful Holyland Rose flower beads!
BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR
All of Bridges for Bethlehem's business expenses are paid by a generous corporate sponsor, so every cent of your hard earned donations go DIRECTLY to where they are needed most.
Shukran! Thank you! Yislamu Ideek. God bless your hands!
Sign up to give $15 or more monthly and become a part of our growing family of "Shepherds" who watch over our dreams and give us hope. Shepherds receive monthly newsletters, recognition on the BfB website and more!