Turquoise Mountain
Unlocking Opportunity through Craft and Creativity
The Swarovski Foundation and Turquoise Mountain partnership equips young displaced persons and Jordanian female artisans with jewellery craft skills and enterprise skills through intensive training courses. By building both technical expertise and business capability, the partnership creates pathways to long-term, sustainable livelihoods, empowering participants to unlock their potential and play a transformative role in their families and communities.
The workforce participation rate for young women in Jordan is alarmingly low, ranking third from the bottom globally, with a participation rate of less than 15%. The situation is even more dire for female Syrians, who face considerable barriers to accessing dignified livelihoods, reflected in an employment rate of only 6%.
Sourced by Turquoise Mountain, 2025
10 apprentices were paired with a Master artisan and a jewellery designer, and successfully embedded traditional techniques into contemporary jewellery pieces though intensive five-months training. 90% of advanced apprentices reported increase in their income after completing their programme.
Since inception, the partnership has empowered 155 young people through multiple training programmes of market-ready jewellery design skills as well as business skills. Turquoise Mountain has successfully brought millions of dollars of handmade crafts to international markets through collaborations with prestigious retailers and designers or selling artisans' work directly to consumers through bespoke commissions.
Images courtesy of Turquoise Mountain
Omama: Bridging Local Success and Global Potential
Building on her momentum from the previous year, Omama has successfully transitioned from a dedicated apprentice to a leading craft entrepreneur. After mastering advanced soldering and self-taught shell inlay, she was selected as one of the 11 finalists in this year’s Creative Entrepreneurs Program to scale her enterprise. Her journey has reached a professional milestone as we work to facilitate a direct collaboration between Omama and renowned international designer Pippa Small. This potential partnership aims to introduce her work to a global audience, moving her beyond local markets into the international luxury sector. Omama’s evolution from an accidental jewellery student to a business owner exploring global opportunities demonstrates the long-term, cumulative impact of the multi-year partnership.
My training experience in jewelry making at the Turquoise Mountain Institute was never just a regular experience — it was a true turning point in my artistic approach and in the pieces I create. I learned to see silver not just as a material, but as something alive in my hands — something I can shape and speak through. I learned how to return to our heritage more deeply, to research and understand it, so I can document it and translate it into contemporary jewelry that carries a soul. This experience left a profound impact on me. It made me see jewelry making not just work, but as a way to express our memory and identity.
Omama
