The shy entrepreneur: observations from the 2nd Annual Micro-enterprise bazaar in Jerusalem.

1. The shy entrepreneur: observations from the
2nd Annual Micro-enterprise bazaar in Jerusalem

2. Introduction
• America House, the U.S. Consulate General's cultural center in East Jerusalem, hosted the 2nd
Annual Women's Micro-Enterprise Bazaar and Fashion Show on December 15, at the
Ambassador Hotel.
• The bazaar featured handicrafts produced by Palestinian women from the West Bank, Gaza Strip,
and East Jerusalem. Over 35 Palestinian women entrepreneurs exhibited traditional Palestinian
embroidery, hand-made soap, jewellery, foodstuffs, ceramics, and stone- and glass-ware. These
are my observations from meeting the women.

3. Historical origin and overview
• Originated in the production of indigenous basic
utensils, using materials such as: clay, glass, straw,
wood and cane.
• The increasing importance of Palestine as a
destination for tourists and religious pilgrims
has stimulated development of handicraft
industries producing for local and
international markets.
Source: “Palestinian Industries.” Ministry of National Economy, 2004.

4. Types of handicrafts
• Palestinian artisans incorporate local and imported
designs in the production of:
– olive,
– wood and mother-of-pearl souvenirs
– crosses
– Christmas tree ornaments
– Nativity scene sets,
– Islamic motifs and jewellery items bearing the insignia of
the Holy Land
– (hand made) glass
– rug weaving
– fine painted ceramic tiles and pottery
Source: “Palestinian Industries.” Ministry of National Economy, 2004.

5. Outlets…
• Retail outlets mostly
found in Jerusalem,
Bethlehem, Hebron and
Gaza City
• Handicraft industries
are continuing to
flourish and they seem
to be growing
extensively each year.
Source: “Palestinian Industries.” Ministry of National Economy, 2004.

6. My photos from the bazaar

7. Earthenware

8. Soap made from olive oil

9. Baskets from olive wood

10. Wallets

11. Purses & jewellery boxes

12. Bed linens

13. Notes on the entrepreneurs
Personality & language
• Almost all were shy, lacking sales experience
• Arabic-speaking sellers and English-speaker
buyers … sometimes there is more information
needed then just the price of the product

14. Notes on the entrepreneurs
Sales techniques
• Unable (or unwilling) to negotiate prices
• In the case of linens, unwilling to separate
products and sell per item – for example I wanted
a pillowcase, but I had no need for an entire set.
If it’s handmade, I didn’t understand the problem
in just selling the pillowcase, but it seemed like
her and other entrepreneurs are pushing for a big
sale, but sometimes customers may walk away.

15. Notes on the entrepreneurs
Unaccustomed to answering certain questions
• Unable to offer details about the production of the
sales item (e.g. I asked one lady where the cocoa in the
chocolate originated came from, but she didn’t know.
Another entrepreneur didn’t know where the coffee
came from that she was using in her ‘medical coffees’
that she mixed with orange zest or ginger).
• Little details, but these are important questions that
we Westerners ask, but these entrepreneurs seemed
unaccustomed to such queries. It’s not always just
about the price!

16. The shy entrepreneur: observations from the
2nd Annual Micro-enterprise bazaar in Jerusalem
CREDITS
Researched by: Andrew Bacchus
www.streetecology.com
www.facebook.com/streetecology
Research made possible by a grant from the Lebovic Foundation at The University of Waterloo in Waterloo,
Canada.