Naama Elsana began her social activism in the village of Lakiya as a young woman. In 1996, together with other women she founded the Lakiya Association for Improvement of Women’s Status, the first Bedouin organization to be recognized. Elsana ran the organization and managed its central projects, the Desert Embroidery and Visitors Center. 

Her numerous activities include the empowerment Bedouin women, the development of tourism in the Negev and the establishment of a Bedouin tourism forum, the establishment of an economic system that provides an income and self-esteem for women by preserving traditional handicrafts, developing a love of reading among Bedouin children through the organization’s mobile library, improving children’s academic achievement through tutoring, youth leadership development, assistance in setting up small businesses for women and participation in coexistence projects.