Darzah is a nonprofit ethical fashion brand producing handmade tatreez embroidered shoes, bags, home goods, and accessories. All products are hand-crafted by women artisans in Palestine's West Bank.
Darzah is a project of Child's Cup Full, a 501(c)3 nonprofit women's economic empowerment initiative based in Zababdeh, a village located in the northern West Bank. The organization is Fair Trade certified by Fair Trade Federation, committed to paying fair wages to employees, implementing sustainable manufacturing practices, and supporting marginalized communities.
Child's Cup Full was founded in 2014 by Dr. Janette Habashi, Associate Professor in educational psychology at the University of Oklahoma. It was not an easy decision to start the organization.
Dr. Habashi always wanted to do something to support the Palestinian community back home but never knew what it could look like. Starting in 2009, she was fundraising with her students at the University of Oklahoma for several years to support after-school programs for refugee children in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
While fundraising was helpful, it became clear to her that in order to have a long-term sustainable impact, she needed to find a way to create jobs for the moms. After considering their skill sets and her academic background in educational psychology, creating an artisan center for women to produce educational children's toys seemed like the logical next step.
Initially, Dr. Habashi was reluctant because it was a big responsibility. She knew it required a lot of time and resources, especially because setting up the artisan center in the West Bank and the nonprofit in the U.S. meant creating two organizations at once, essentially.
She had the IRS paperwork on her desk for several months and eventually submitted the application in 2014. It wasn't until a year later that Child's Cup Full had a formal team in the U.S., which to this day is just the Assistant Director Cayley Pater and Dr. Habashi herself.
In 2015, unemployment rates for young women in the West Bank were as high as 63%. The organization aims to provide training and job opportunities for some of the most marginalized individuals in the northern region specifically, where poverty rates are especially high.
In 2015, they decided to create Darzah as another way to generate jobs for refugee and low-income women in the West Bank and to share the beauty of tatreez embroidery. It's certainly not easy, but Dr. Habashi is glad to be on this path. Not only are they successfully helping women and their families, they're also placing a strong value on women's contributions in their local communities in Palestine, which is so important.
The organization's mission is twofold: first, to create economic opportunities for refugee and low-income women artisans; and second, to celebrate tatreez embroidery and Palestinian cultural heritage.
Darzah, which in Arabic means "to stitch," specializes in creating products that carry a traditional form of Palestinian embroidery called tatreez. The brand seeks to introduce tatreez to the Western fashion market through high-end fashion products.
Tatreez is more than just an embroidery technique—it's a profound expression of Palestinian culture, identity, and resilience. Rooted in centuries of tradition, this intricate art form tells the stories of the Palestinian people, their land, and their history.
The tradition of tatreez dates back to the Canaanite era, approximately 3,000 years ago, in the Arab region. This ancient art form has been lovingly passed down from mothers to daughters, generation after generation, for over 3,000 years.
Each motif in tatreez holds deep cultural significance, with patterns often passed down through generations, symbolizing everything from nature to family heritage. Each stitch, color, and pattern tells a story, representing the unique identity of villages, families, and individuals.
Traditionally, Palestinian women have used tatreez to decorate clothing, household items, and festive garments, embedding layers of meaning into every stitch. As a form of cultural preservation, tatreez stands as a vibrant testament to the enduring spirit of the Palestinian people.
Traditionally, the colors and motifs of tatreez indicated social and community status. For example, unmarried women used blue thread, married women used red, and widowed women stitched over the red with blue thread.
The most renowned form of tatreez is cross-stitching, but other common stitches include manajel (connecting stitch), tashreem (patchwork stitch), and jadleh (hemming stitch). The Manajeel stitch, also known as the connecting stitch, plays a crucial role in the art of tatreez.
Initially a symbol of regional pride, tatreez later became a potent symbol of Palestinian nationalism. The main techniques used in Palestinian embroidery are cross-stitch and couching stitch, each stitch and motif carrying significant meaning.
Tatreez is not just about creating beautiful embroidery—it's about the deep connection between Palestinian mothers and daughters. Through tatreez, mothers impart invaluable lessons to their daughters about their heritage, history, and identity.
The intricate patterns and stitches carry stories of ancestors, weaving a rich tapestry of lineage and cultural pride. This shared art form strengthens the bond between generations, fostering a sense of unity and continuity within Palestinian families.
At Darzah, Palestinian women artisans pour their hearts into each stitch, creating exquisite pieces that honor their heritage and tell their stories. By supporting tatreez, customers not only celebrate the artistry of these incredible women but also contribute to the preservation of Palestinian culture and history.
Products are 100% handmade in Palestine. The brand collaborates with skilled shoe and bag makers in Al-Khalil/Hebron to design products, and artisans hand-embroider each piece with a beautiful tatreez motif. All leather is locally sourced from a family-run leather manufacturer in the Al-Khalil region, making all products completely made in Palestine.
The artisan center in Zababdeh employs six full-time artisans with several others employed part-time. The brand also works through artisan partners in Ramallah, Hebron, and Bethlehem. Some women come with few sewing skills, so it's important that adequate training is offered to teach them how to make products.
Each and every purchase from Darzah contributes to artisan salaries, employment programs, and job training in the West Bank. As a Fair Trade certified brand, Darzah is committed to providing artisans with optimal working conditions and living wages 60% higher than the average corporate salary in the West Bank.
High unemployment rates in the West Bank unfortunately impede people's ability to have confidence in the economy and the future for their children. The goal is to empower refugee and marginalized women through training and job creation, and to share their beautiful work in the global marketplace.
By hiring marginalized women artisans, the organization provides a stable income they can use to support themselves, their children, and their families. The women have expressed that working with Child's Cup Full provides security, helps build confidence in the economy, and enables them to dream for their future.
Product collections include handmade tatreez embroidered shoes, bags, accessories, pillows, and home décor. The Blue Pillow Cover embroidered with the "Cow Eyes" (Eyoon Al Baqar in Arabic) tatreez motif adds a pop of color to living spaces, allowing customers to share Palestinian heritage with guests.
The brand has expanded into various accessories including headbands featuring the "Mart Al Farran" or "The Bakers Wife" tatreez motif. The orange blossom, known as Iruq al-nafnuf in Palestinian tatreez embroidery, holds significant cultural and symbolic importance, symbolizing joy, fertility, and prosperity while evoking the lush beauty of orange trees that flourish in Palestine's Jaffa city.
Darzah also created educational products through the Zeki Learning brand, including the Arab Culture Mini Memory Game that increases familiarity with objects, nature, and places central to Arab identity. The Flying Bugs Assembly Kit enables children to have a holistic understanding of ecosystems.
Products are handmade in the West Bank by skilled Palestinian women artisans. Each item is crafted with care, preserving the traditional art of tatreez embroidery. All orders are shipped from the fulfillment center in the U.S., ensuring reliable and timely delivery to customers worldwide.
The brand is dedicated to preserving tradition through the "Tatreez Archive"—a digital database documenting unique tatreez patterns. A successful LaunchGood campaign raised over $37,000 for this cause during Ramadan.
Every Darzah product purchased helps change lives. Purchases empower women artisans in Palestine and help preserve rich cultural heritage. Products are hand-crafted by a small community of women artisans from the West Bank. When customers buy from Darzah, they can feel good knowing that a real pair of hands was behind every stitch of fabric.
Artisan stories illustrate the impact. Manar needed a way to help her father who suffers from heart disease. With little job opportunity for women in Palestine, Darzah allowed Manar to turn her handcrafting hobby into a career, supporting herself and the family she loves.
Shereen wanted her husband to have more time with her and their three children, but his two jobs made that very hard. Since starting work at Darzah, Shereen is hopeful her husband can go back to working one job. She loves being able to work close to home.
Ansam, a mother to two young children, works to help support her family. Having a less stressful work environment is one of her favorite parts of working at Child's Cup Full.
As a nonprofit Palestinian brand, Darzah steadfastly ensures fair compensation, constant support, and financial empowerment for talented Palestinian women artisans. Every day, they celebrate remarkable women who weave unique stories of strength and resilience.
The organization wants people to want products because of their utility and quality, and then to appreciate them because they're fair trade and create jobs for Palestinian refugee and low-income women in the West Bank.
Every day is a success story, considering how far they've come since starting. Dr. Habashi remembers at University of Oklahoma when they had their first bake sale to fundraise for after-school programs, and later they started with just $4,000 to create the artisan center.
The brand is now in more than 25 stores in the U.S. and internationally, building more momentum each day. Retailers and companies are interested and impressed with the quality and design of products. Success with the brand in the U.S. translates directly to success for job creation in the West Bank. They hope to continue hiring more women as the business grows so they can rely on sales to sustain the initiative.
Products are carried at Ten Thousand Villages locations, Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Detroit Zoo Gift Shop, and other boutiques across California, Iowa, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kansas, and Michigan.
The organization was created on the principle that when you invest in a woman, you invest in the larger community—a clear means of effectively reducing poverty in the West Bank. On a global scale, it has been proven that increased representation of women in the labor force results in faster economic growth.
Child's Cup Full creates fair-wage jobs for Palestinian women artisans—reviving traditional crafts, supporting families, and building a future rooted in dignity and resilience. The vision is to change the landscape of economic opportunity for women in the West Bank and create circumstances where any Palestinian woman can achieve a fair, dignified, and sustainable working wage.
