At Yad LaKashish, he was given clay and started to produce the exquisite black clay sculpture that is a hallmark of Ethiopian art. After a short time, he developed independent
creative designs, sculpting animal figurines decorated with Ethiopian motifs.

Yosef has now learned some Hebrew and is always happy to share what he is working on with those around him. He shows a real appreciation for the work done by his colleagues too.

We are very excited that our Ethiopian artisans are having the chance to connect to their heritage through making these very special ethnic products.

"I had never sculpted before and now I discovered a new talent."

Miriam was born in 1929 in the Former Soviet Union and made aliyah in 1991. Miriam is divorced and the mother of three, and worked as a Soviet aircraft engineer. When she made aliyah and failed to find work in her field due to the language barrier, she did not turn down any job and worked variously as an adult caretaker and cleaning houses and offices.

Miriam arrived at Yad LaKashish in 2007, on the recommendation of a friend who sang in the same choir as her.  At her interview, we discovered a woman with a high motivation to work, but whose hands shook. For this reason, she was accepted into the paper workshop, which is capable of absorbing people with motor difficulties. Surprisingly, despite her shaky hands, it transpired that through the process of work itself, she was able to stabilize her hands and undertake painting jobs requiring precision work. She has trained to paint the notebooks and albums, and has developed a unique and independent style of painting.

Miriam is a special asset at the paper workshop and at Yad LaKashish as a whole, because she has command of both Russian and Hebrew, and is able to translate written materials. We use her a lot in this capacity because most of the elderly at Yad LaKashish are Russian speakers and need a translation service.

“Yad LaKashish is a special place that supports me financially, me and my children.”

Yosef was born in Romania in 1919 and worked as a company director. He came to Israel in 1992 and has been working at the Yad LaKashish metal workshop since 2003. Yosef has no family, but does have a girlfriend, Rachel, who he met at Yad LaKashish. Rachel was born in Russia and works in the embroidery workshop. Rachel and Yosef speak Yiddish together and arrive at Yad LaKashish hand in hand every day. Yosef recently had a fall and was hospitalized for a long time. We all feared that we would have to say goodbye to Yosef. However, Yosef fought his way back to reasonable health, and was determined to return to Yad LaKashish. Although he is increasingly frail, Yosef can still be found every morning making beautiful metal creations which will be displayed in homes around the world.