March & August 2024
After the first Micro Mill activation wrapped up, we were increasingly seeing the occupation of Palestine escalate through social media. Bern connected us with a textile and fashion collective, based in Ramallah which is the sister city of Te Whanganui a Tara. Nöl Collective were fundraising to help weaver Husam and his family evacuate from Al Majdal. Husam and his brother Waleed produce Majdalawi fabric, a style of weaving that is intertwined with the place - Al Majdal. Nöl Collective have a blog post about the significance of the history of weaving in Al Majdal, which you can read here.
We decided to host a fundraising activation to contribute to this fund. We made a special warp inspired by the Majdalawi stripe, using colours of the Palestine flag. We took donations, and hosted ticketed workshop. After two activations in March we raised over $1500. By the end of our activation the fund goal for Husam and his family had been reached, so we donated to funds to another family in need as requested by Nöl Collective.
Husam and his family were able to relocate to Cairo where new looms and a weaving studio have been set up. Nöl have created a fund to help Husam preserve the tradition of Majdalawi weaving, you can donate to it here. More information about what this fund goes towards can be found in this post here.
More Nöl Collective reading:
