Facebook: Tamimi Ceramics
Pottery making is an ancient practice in Palestine that dates back to the 4th century BC and was mainly used for cooking and storing food staples and preserves. The roots of pottery making are in Gaza that expanded to Hebron and then Tulkarem. In Gaza City, there is a neighbourhood called Fawakheer (potters), named after the craft. Similarly, in Hebron the family name “Al Fakhoury” was derived from the family’s long history in the pottery business.
Pottery is one of the threatened handicrafts in Palestine as less and less people are buying locally produced pottery. This has resulted from the availability of many other alternatives such as plastic and modern cooking utensils. Nevertheless, the natural raw material used in handmade pottery remains unbeatable in terms of health and environmental impacts in addition to aesthetics. It is made from clay particles that make mud, which are mixed with water and sun-dried for a few days. It is then shaped and moulded to the required size and decorated, followed by baking in a 900-degree Celsius oven. The natural colours of the pottery are warm and inviting and in its simplicity it surpasses many products we use today that are full of harmful chemicals. Pottery is made for different purposes: Fukharra for cooking meat and poultry, Zeer and Mashrabeh for large and small water containers, and one called Ma’janeh for preparing mansaf, a famous dish in the Levant. Pottery is also used to grow plants and comes in different shapes and sizes. This dying trade in Palestine needs revival through encouraging people to return to using pottery in their home, which would increase the local demand needed for historical factories such as that of the Tamimi’s to persist and develop.
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Product Selling Points: On location.