Japan is financing a United Nations (UN) led project to bolster employment and garment design in the West Bank of Palestine.
The project was officially launched this month, with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) providing US$446,428 for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to spend on promoting “employability for women and youth in the State of Palestine through supporting the garment and textile value chain.”
“The project is about connecting producers to the market if they don’t have a clue about market needs. We are not doing ‘pity fashion’,” says Marlen Barkalli, industrial development officer at UNIDO.
To give garment designs an edge, the aim is for local designers to be inspired by traditional clothing, particularly embroidery and motifs. “We want to have this inspiration from the culture, and restructure it to give it something different, a new twist that makes it relevant to all types of markets yet avoids super-ethnicity or the Hawaiian shirt syndrome,” Barkalli adds.
A design centre is to be established, possibly in Jenin in the northern West Bank, that will include 10 design workstations, 10 sewing machines and 3D printers. UNIDO is currently evaluating the number of Palestinian companies to be involved, depending on their economic viability.
Aimed at training 300 young men and women, conducting market research and coaching for trade fair participation, the project is also being conducted with the Palestine ministry of national economy, and its Creative Palestine campaign.
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By GlobalDataIt is targeting a 10% growth rate, and 20% increase in exports, primarily to Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Palestinian garment sector has significantly declined in scale since 2001 due to political and economic instability, and a lack of price competitiveness. Domestic production had accounted for a 60% share of the local market in 2001, but dropped to 28% by 2011, according to UNIDO figures.
Former garment and textile projects since that time have led to five new Palestinian-government supported design collections, participation in local and international fairs, generating sales of EUR410,000, according to UNIDO.
Two design hubs were created in Nablus and Bethlehem in the West Bank by these earlier projects.
There is currently a footwear facility centre in Hebron, funded by a EUR500,000 Italian government-backed initiative, and a Palestine Creative Hub in Ramallah, a business centre where organisers offer spaces and services, to help creators, innovators and entrepreneurs collaborate and develop viable business projects, including in the textile and clothing sector.
