Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
With her soft hands, the young woman, Aya Kashko (28 years old), is creative in recycling discarded wooden pallets, which she calls “mashatih.” She puts her touch to dismantling, cutting, and assembling these woods to transform them into distinctive wooden furniture and shapes, in a profession that has been monopolized by men for decades.
Aya was able to deviate from the norm and break the rule based on the saying “a male profession,” and she proved that she overcame the obstacles that stood in her way by creating her own project, “Basata.”
Kishko’s beginnings were with her graduation from the university in architecture, and obtaining a job opportunity in a furniture factory in the industrial zone east of the Gaza Strip, as part of the architectural projects that the university offers to distinguished women.
While Aya worked in furniture factories in the industrial zone, she had the idea of recycling wooden pallets and artistic designs, and that was the beginning of establishing her own project and opening her workshop, “Bassat,” in the Zaytoun neighborhood in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Aya's workshop employs 12 male individuals, whose specialties range from engineering, carpentry, painting, dismantling, and assembly to produce artistic designs with precision and high quality.
Aya says, “I supported my university degree with my talent and passion for excellence and creativity in the manufacture of woodwork and artistic and engineering designs, an idea that has grown with me for years.”
She added, "What made me turn towards wood and recycling it was my vision, through my work in the industrial zone, of hundreds of trucks entering factories to transport goods placed on wooden pallets, and these woods being disposed of without benefiting from them in any way."
Aya excelled in her artistic designs by recycling wooden pallets and turning them into beautiful, environmentally friendly pieces of furniture. At the same time, these pieces are of high quality and low cost, suitable for all segments of society.
For her artistic creativity in the field of furniture design, Aya won the Pioneer Women Award in Palestine for the year 2018 in a competition organized by the Belgian Consulate in Jerusalem.
With her unique project, as she is the first female entrepreneur in Gaza who excelled in the field of wooden designs, Aya seeks to participate in local and international exhibitions to highlight the role of Palestinian women in the free world.
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Achievements and Awards
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