Workshop Targets Owners of Pottery Factories in Hebron

As a continuation of the project “Mediterranean Cultural Network to Promote Creativity in the Arts, Crafts and Design for Communities’ Regeneration in Historical Cities” also known as MEDNETA, Birzeit University’s Architectural Engineering Department held a workshop targeting owners of pottery factories and workshops on August 7, 2014 in Hebron.

The meeting was attended by project director and department chairman Shadi Ghadban, project communications officer Mohammad Abdul Hadi, project coordinators in Hebron Andalib Atawneh and GIS project expert Moayad Rimaw, and the owners of pottery factories and workshops in Hebron.

Ghadban presented the project goals, aims, target areas and expected outputs, and Mrs. Atawneh presented the results of the pottery field survey that was conducted by the project team.

The results showed that the most important problem facing the pottery sector in Hebron is Israeli occupation practices at borders and checkpoints, which affects the import and export of raw materials. Also, there is a lack of suitable venues for some of the crafts, which require large spaces to create and produce waste, smoke and pollution during the manufacturing process. Furthermore, some craftsmen don't have modern technology to help increase the diversity and quantity of production. Most of the artisans in the pottery sector still use traditional methods at work and 37.5% use modern technology in parallel with traditional methods.

Later, the project team and the craftsmen discussed the most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges facing the pottery sector in the city.

At the end of the meeting, the team and the craftsmen agreed to further discuss the field survey during the SWOT seminar, which will be held on September 7, 2014 in Hebron.