Desert Embroidery [Rikmat Hamidbar]: Association for the Improvement of Women’s Status was established in Laqiya in 1996 with the goal of improving the status of Bedouin women in Bedouin society and in Israel as a whole. Desert Embroidery is the first Bedouin women’s nonprofit in the Negev, and is managed and operated by local women, who are sensitive to the needs and problems of their community. The association, based on a traditional, home-centered embroidery industry that can be done at home without disrupting daily tasks, provides work and income to the members. The women embroider in their free time and deliver their hand-made products to the center once a week. A core of women takes responsibility for design and development of the product, provision of embroidery materials, worker training, product marketing, and management. Another group fabricates the basic items and ensures quality control over the finished products.
