About us

Disarming Design from Palestine (DDfP) is an independent non-profit organisation that operates as a design label and learning platform. Our mission is to foster thought-provoking design from Palestine by developing and distributing useful products that share poetic and political statements. Often rooted in experiences from everyday life in occupied Palestine, the items serve as cultural artefacts that catalyse conversations.

Our History

DDfP was founded in 2012🔗 as a design project by artist Khaled Hourani and designer Annelys Devet in collaboration with the International Academy of Art Palestine (Ramallah) and the Sandberg Instituut (Amsterdam). Over the years, its organisational structure shifted while consistently remaining a unique platform at the intersection of design, crafts and social activism. Since 2015, the organisation has been registered as an independent Belgium-based non-profit organisation (vzw) committed to critical design, international distribution, and raising global awareness.

Since its foundation, seven annual design workshops🔗 have been organised in which local design students and young professionals collaborated with international peers and Palestinian artisans to develop new products reflecting the lived realities in Palestine. Between 2015 and 2019, DDfP maintained a community centre🔗, initially in Ramallah and later in Birzeit, offering a wide range of design-related events run by the local community. These experiences informed the founding of the temporary master’s programme ‘Disarming Design’🔗 at the Sandberg Instituut Amsterdam from 2020 to 2022.

Method

We consider the role of design in advancing international solidarity and raising awareness for justice in the Palestinian struggle for liberation and self-determination. We strongly emphasise consciously made artisanal products that bear witness to the charged reality in which they are made.

Most of our designs are developed through annual workshops in Palestine that we organised from 2012 to 2019🔗. Local designers and international peers collaborated with artisans to create products that shed light on human narratives from Palestine, challenging social and political preconceptions.

Subsequently, the designs went into production and became part of our collection. We also incorporated existing products, such as the Nabulsi soap🔗 and the Keffiyeh🔗 , or new products, such as the Qastina Aprons🔗 or the Heirloom seeds🔗 .

With our work, we encourage connections with craftspeople, offering them opportunities for work, agency, fair compensation, and networks, thus contributing to preserving traditional craftsmanship. This is one of the ways we work to combat the marginalisation that artisans and designers face, irrespective of their level of activity, as a consequence of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Disarming Design

For us, a ‘disarming’🔗 manner is an anti-hierarchical approach, defying dominant and oppressive power structures. ‘Disarming’ positions design as a cultural tool to oppose authority and create knowledge with affection, desire and imagination. Our platform puts forward designs with a presence and narrative that open our gaze and stimulate critical thinking. The products seek to uncover meaningful connections and patterns that help us better understand our histories and imagine just futures. It is a way to trigger reflective moments and start conversations about the realities the designs embody.

In the context of Palestine, ‘Disarming design’ is an approach to design that upholds Palestinian narratives in the face of the systematic oppression caused by the Israeli occupation.

Organisation

We run the organisation from Belgium with a small, committed team, collaborating with a broad network of friends and supporters from Palestine and beyond. The designs are regularly produced by various Palestinian craftspeople and designers and shipped to Belgium, where we handle the packaging, distribution and sales. Our studio is based in Sint Pieters Leeuw, near Brussels.

Network

This project was initiated in 2011 in collaboration with Khaled Hourani and the International Academy of Arts Ramallah. Sami Khaldi and Mohammad Saleh transformed the project into a local independent organisation in 2015. From 2015 to 2020, Ghadeer Dajani managed the production and designs, developing prototypes into high-quality designs with a growing knowledge and network of the best artisans in Palestine; her work has been immeasurable.  Raed Hamouri ran the organisation in Birzeit from 2018 to 2020 and developed a lively program in our community centre, Hosh Jalsa. The organisation and network have genuinely been fostered through their collective committed work.

We value collaboration and co-creation of knowledge and often join forces with people, collectives and initiatives with whom we share common creative and political grounds. We believe in building other ways of exchanging for substantial social change rather than reproducing behaviours and patterns that come from and contribute to oppression.

Financial ecosystem

We are a Belgium-based non-profit organisation (vzw) with a small volunteer team. With free storage, a studio and flexible partners, we keep the operational costs to a bare minimum. We are self-sustainable through the sales of products and occasional donations. 

To produce the items, we work without intermediaries, purchasing them directly from artisans and designers in Palestine while ensuring fair prices and direct payments. The designs are shipped to our studio near Brussels, where we label, package and distribute them. We sell them via our online shop, events and museum shops (that operate with little or no profit margins). All proceeds are invested in new production and design development.

As an organisation, we wholeheartedly support the BDS movement and follow its guidelines. In addition, we are an official member of the Belgian Fair Trade Federation and underline the principles of the World Fair Trade Organisation.

In the press

Frequently Asked Questions