White on white keffiyeh
أبيض على كوفيّة بيضاء
The traditional Hirbawi textile factory in Hebron produced this true Palestinian keffiyeh scarf. The Hirbawi factory is one of the only remaining factories to manufacture keffiyeh locally after the neo-liberal market has been flooded with cheap keffiyeh made in China.
- Further reading:
- The Palestinian keffiyeh: all you need to know about its origins [Middle East Eye]
- World Keffiyeh Day [Samidoun]
- Hirbawi Textile Factory (PS)
Yasser Hirbawi opened the Hirbawi Textile Factory in 1961 in Hebron, operating 15 machines and producing 150,000 keffiyehs annually by the early 1990s. Today, due to the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords and the opening of trade with the outside world, only four machines remain in operation producing a mere 10,000 scarves a year. Not one of these scarves are exported, as overseas suppliers produce mass quantities at a fraction of the price, and the shrinking Palestinian economy and Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks create further hindrances to production and trade for small businesses like Mr. Hirbawi’s. In Mr. Hirbawi’s own words: “My machines are in good shape. They can start working tomorrow. I just need a market.” The Keffiyeh’s black and white pattern has come to symbolize the Palestinian struggle; the middle pattern, with its “wire mesh fence” design represents the Israeli occupation, while the oblong-shaped patterns on the side represent olive leaves- a symbol of Palestine and peace.
2017
90% cotton
130 x 130 cm
€25,00