Sidreh

On Monday, the first part of our field trip was going to a town called Lakiya that is fairly small and is the product of Bedouin tribes being forced to join the modern age but still trying to keep their traditional Muslim traditions. The women usually are not supposed to go out of the home very often and therefore they have to find some way to support themselves without going out into public and this is where Sidreh steps in. They are a non-profit support group for Bedouin women to make a living by dying wool, making string and ultimately creating elaborate works of art like rugs, bags, pillows etc. And those who are devout are able to do it from home! They have a center for those who are not devout to come and work as well. Even with all the support they are getting from the LDS church, Sidreh does pays all the women fair wages so usually the organization just breaks even because of the difficulty to market their business. Here is their website where you can learn more about them/make purchases (I wish I had brought money on the field trip - I totally would have gotten something!) and here is a little glimpse of what they do:

I would highly recommend checking it out. It's such a worthwhile cause and they need all the help they can get!