RAMALLAH, West Bank — Feb. 1 marked the end of the winter vacation for Jordanian storyteller Sally Shalabi, who spent most of her time off in the Kafr Rumman village retreat, near the city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank. As part of a cultural retreat program, Shalabi spent most of her time in an old house that was restored by the owner to receive intellectuals and artists.

Shalabi learned about the Kafr Rumman residency program from a friend’s Facebook page, and decided to visit the place and write about the retreat and the artists and writers who spend their time there.

Abed Rahman Othman is a local journalist and editor in chief at the German radio station DW (Deutsche Welle). He restored his family’s house along with other old houses he bought in the old town of the village at his own expense, to host writers and artists as part of a retreat program that he dubbed the Dooz Artists Residency, which started receiving guests at the beginning of 2017.

In return for free accommodation, the guests provide public services to the village, such as painting, drawing, writing and reading workshops for women and children.