Empower Women Entrepreneurs in Palestine & Jordan

Forty Palestinian women have increased their income by an average of $300 per family after receiving agricultural management training and support from NEF field staff since January 2012.

The women successfully increased their income by developing sustainable small enterprises harvesting thyme.  

In October 2012, not even a year after the project began, the 40 participating women had a second thyme harvest that was productive in both crop yield and income generation. In the future they will continue to harvest regularly.

Throughout the project, NEF technical staff trained women on seedless propagation of crops in their fields. Through this training, seven women increased their planted thyme area by 200%.

Additionally, ten women learned to process thyme with oregano and sesame to make “Za’tar,” which is 50% more profitable than selling fresh thyme. Combined with olive oil and bread, “Za’tar” is a common breakfast food for Palestinian families.

These 40 women have proven their ability to manage their new microenterprises and are well on their way to becoming successful entrepreneurs. The Near East Foundation will continue to provide them with guidance as needed.

NEF strives to empower women to be successful and independent entrepreneurs. This includes adapting to changing business conditions.

For example, the Balata Women’s Association received NEF support to prepare and distribute nutritionally fortified snacks through the World Food Programme’s school feeding program. When funding ended, Balata women used their experience to establish concessions in primary schools, providing nutritious snacks to children as a private business. With training from NEF, they have created jobs for women and a revenue stream to invest in social development activities that benefit all of them.

As our women partners successfully establish their small enterprises, we can expand our model to help more women. When the thyme project concludes, a new group of women will receive support to develop a variety of business initiatives.

NEF is currently launching a new cycle of support for women micro-entrepreneurs, with a goal of supporting the establishment of at least 150 women micro-enterprises by 2016. These women will receive assistance in:

• Identifying high potential businesses through regional economic assessments;
• Developing micro-enterprise and business management skills;
• Accessing micro-credit for micro-enterprise start-ups; and
• Developing an enduring support system through micro-franchising and a women’s business support network.

This exciting expansion will launch in the coming months. We look forward to sharing updates about the impact with you. 

Your support to women’s business development increases incomes and opportunities for families in the Palestinian Territories. Thank You! 

Links:

• Near East Foundation Palestine Program

Impoverished families in the villages of Nassareyyeh, Aqrabaneyyeh, Bathan, and Fara’ah in the Jordan Valley continue to improve their livelihoods through the cultivation of thyme, an important traditional herb that is used widely across the region.

Over the past six months, 40 Palestinian women have successfully started their own thyme gardens, working in close partnership with the Near East Foundation, local women’s organizations, and the Palestinian Center for Agricultural Research and Development.

During the first and second trimmings, the women took in an average of approximately $150.00 each from nearly 19 kilograms of thyme, sold either fresh or dried. 

The new income opportunities created by the project are helping to eliminate poverty for participating women and their families. Having a productive home garden allows women to take care of their large families while also contributing to the family income.

With the first harvest for market expected in October, the women must first survive a major challenge to their crop: the annual dry season. Before the dry season began, each of the women received training from the NEF project team on how to help their crops endure through the dry season, when precipitation decreases and crops become vulnerable to drought.   

With help from NEF and its partners, half of the women planted their seedlings in rows and installed drip irrigation pipes. The other women received guidance on how to plant their seedlings in basins and irrigate their crop by water hose or pitcher.

For many of the women, this is the first time they have grown thyme or had sole responsibility for a crop. Through the duration of the growing cycle, the NEF project team will continue to visit the women in their fields and support them with training in key areas – such as irrigation.

During one recent training session, women learned harvesting, storing, and marketing skills, which they will utilize with their first yield in the fall. These new skills included a technique to cut from the top of the plant in order to stop vertical growing and allow horizontal growing. Over time, this technique leads to an increase in total production – and a corresponding increases in profits. 

Production from the thyme crop is expected to continue for the next 4-5 years as a sustainable source of income for these entrepreneurial women and their families.