Ma'an Lil-Hayat
L'Arche Bethlehem

Bethlehem

Ma'an Lil-Hayat means 'together for life' in Arabic, and was founded in August 2009 as a project of the International Federation of L'Arche Communities.  Ma'an Lil-Hayat brings together people with and without intellectual disabilities to share life through work, celebration and mutual relationships of friendship and trust. 

Ma'an Lil-Hayat provides daily social activities, craft production and meals for 40 people with intellectual disabilities from refugee camps and villages in the Bethlehem area.  Through community life and work,  Ma'an Lil-Hayat seeks to foster the development of self-esteem and creativity, the ability to make choices, and the active participation in a learning environment. 

Ma'an Lil-Hayat specializes in producing felt crafts from natural sheep wool that is purchased from local shepherdesses.  They undertake the entire process of felt-making -- from cleaning the wool, carding, dyeing, felting, and drying.  The result is a collection of unique and adorable items, including Christmas ornaments and decors, hair accessories, bags, conin purses, and slippers. 

Ma'an Lil-Hayat is located within a few-minute walk from the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, and is housed in a renovated historic mansion.  Their second workshop was opened in 2017 in Dar Salah, a village in the eastern Bethlehem area.  
 

Ma'an Lil-Hayat - L'Arche Bethlehem
P.O. Box 182
Bethlehem District, West Bank
Telefax: (+972) 02-274-3345
[email protected]