MA’AN Development Center, established in 1989, is a Palestinian non-profit organization that promotes self-reliance and sustainable development. It implements Family Centers supporting women and children through education, protection, psychosocial support, life skills, and women’s initiatives, fostering empowerment and community resilience.

In 2017–2018, I collaborated with Ma’an Development Center as a design coach, leading a six-month training program across three family centers in Nusairat, Buraij, and Rafah. The program aimed to enhance the technical and creative skills of women embroiderers, enabling them to develop new products, strengthen cultural expression, and expand economic opportunities.

My work focused on improving participants’ design process and creative abilities through practical exercises in color selection, design principles, and composition, ensuring embroidery pieces were both artistic and market-ready. I introduced digital methods, training the women to digitize and pixelize patterns for cross-stitch designs, encouraging innovation while staying rooted in tradition.

A key aspect of the training was exploring Palestinian embroidery as storytelling and cultural continuity. Participants discussed how traditional motifs could be reimagined in contemporary designs. To bridge creativity with practice, I organized market visits where they learned to assess materials, fabrics, threads, and accessories, building practical knowledge of sourcing and quality standards.

Together, we developed new embroidery products and prototypes, blending heritage with modern design. The program concluded with a public exhibition at the Rashad Al Shawwa Cultural Centre, where the women proudly showcased their creations—demonstrating both personal growth and collective creativity.