Facilities and the Megemeria school
The Yvel jewelry design center and production factory stand on the slopes of the Judean Hills just outside Motza, along the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway. The 4645 m2 complex houses a visitors' center with a 3D movie theater, where short films showing the company's history and mission are shown for jewelry shoppers, guests and visiting tour groups.[1]
There is also a wine cellar on site, which was built within a restored 19th-century stone building that was once an inn for pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem and previously housed the Efrat winery.[1]
Of the 100 employees, more than 90% are Jewish immigrants from 22 countries including Russia, Syria, Iraq and the United States.[3]
The Megemeria School of Jewelry and Art, established in 2010, has focused on one underprivileged segment of the Israeli immigrant population. The school trains and employs only Jews who migrated from Ethiopia. The word "megemeriamm" means "genesis" in Amharic. The first class of 21 students, in the age range from 20 to 55, graduated in 2012.[3]
The free 12-month course includes a seven-month introduction to the elements of jewelry making, including gem setting and the design process. The course is designed to enable the participants to undertake the five-month jewelry accreditation course of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. At the same time, they attend Hebrew, family budget management, mathematics and Israeli culture courses to help them become socially involved citizens. Mentors are chosen among the Yvel workers and Megemeria graduates. The participants receive a stipend equal to the Israeli minimum wage.[7]
Since most of the students have never received formal education and are living below the poverty line,[8] the courses are critical for their integration and employment.[6] Graduates can choose whether they want to join Yvel, stay at Megemeria and help it become a self-sustained business, or seek work elsewhere as goldsmiths, pearl sorters or diamond setters.[9]
The Megemeria jewelry collection represents the students' heritage and culture, as the designs incorporate inscriptions in their native Amharic. All profits generated by sales are put into a separate company, run by the graduates themselves, to help fund the salaries and running costs of the school.[1]
The school was initially co-operated by the non-profit organization YEDID (Association for Community Empowerment) and financed by the Levys, who consider it part of their tikkun olam,[4] and by their friends, Jewish organizations such as The Len-Ari Foundation, The Joint, the San Francisco Jewish Federation, World ORT and the Baron de Hirsch Foundation, as well as the Israeli government.[3][10]
Yityish Titi Aynaw, the first Ethiopian Israeli to be Miss Israel, wore a Megemeria pendant to promote the program.[11]
