Join us Saturday, July 4th for a pop-up with Morgan Cooper Totah of Handmade Palestine at Mother Foucault's during regular shop hours.
Handmade Palestine is a fairtrade handicraft marketplace that supports and empowers female Palestinian artisans to sustain their livelihoods under military occupation. The social enterprise is run by a team of volunteers who work with many artisans and women’s cooperatives across the country.
It was founded by American, Morgan Cooper Totah, in 2013 with a small display in the corner of a local Ramallah cafe. From 2015 to 2021, Handmade Palestine built its first online community through Etsy, connecting artisans in Palestine with customers around the world. In February 2021, the brand launched its independent website, creating a permanent home for the growing network of makers and their stories.
What started with five artisan groups has grown into partnerships with more than 30 artisan groups and women’s cooperatives, alongside dozens of small businesses across Palestine. The artisans include generational silversmiths, olive wood carvers, brass artisans, micro-mosaic artists, ceramists, weavers, embroiderers, soap makers, designers, writers, and visual artists. Many are women sustaining their families and preserving cultural heritage through skilled handwork passed down across generations.
Handmade Palestine works closely with its partners to support fair income, international market access, and skills development. Each piece shipped abroad represents not only craftsmanship, but resilience, continuity, and dignity.
All profits from Handmade Palestine are reinvested into Mashjar Juthour, a regenerative land and arboretum project in Ramallah dedicated to protecting indigenous Palestinian trees, restoring biodiversity, and creating educational space for future generations. In this way, every purchase supports both artisan livelihoods and long-term stewardship of the land.
Handmade Palestine is more than a marketplace — it is a bridge between heritage and modern life, connecting global customers to the depth, skill, and resilience of Palestinian artisans.
Morgan Cooper Totah, is an urban farmer, designer, and the founder of Handmade Palestine. She is also the creator of Little Olea, a natural teething and nursing brand inspired by motherhood and olive wood craftsmanship.
In 2010, Morgan left academia to move to Palestine and build an arboretum with her husband on Ramallah Heritage Land. Since then, her work has centered on land stewardship, craft preservation, and building sustainable livelihoods for artisan communities.
She lives in Ramallah with her husband, Saleh Totah, and their two young children, in the home his father built. When she’s not working alongside artisan partners, she can be found fermenting vegetables, learning more about Palestinian heritage, and baking with her five-year-old on their urban farm.
handmadepalestine.com
https://www.instagram.com/handmadepalestine/
juthour.org