Women-led cooperatives in Lebanon are helping communities cope with the recent crises that have hit the country in waves: first the financial crisis; later, the COVID-19 pandemic; and later the Beirut port explosion in August 2021.
Al Atayeb (Delights) based in the city of Kfardebia, north of Beirut, is a cooperative led by a group of these women. The cooperative specializes in producing local and traditional food such as citrus jam, fruit jam, fruit puree and the famous Lebanese Makdous (pickled eggplant).
The 13 women who make up the cooperative receive a part of the profits, as well as a salary, obtained from their work in the preparation and processing of food. Local farmers who sell their crops also benefit.
“It’s my way of empowering women”
“Teaching food processing skills was my way of empowering women,” says Samira Zoughaib Akiki, president of Al Atayeb. It also empowered me as I was surrounded by visionary and generous women.
Akiki started in the food industry about two decades ago, running food processing workshops and training sessions for women. This experience of hers led her and her colleagues to form Al Atayeb as a cooperative capable of creating job opportunities and ensuring that all members share in the success of the company.
When Lebanon’s economic crisis was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Akiki learned that the UN was providing essential support to cooperatives like his.
“The UN provided monthly salaries so that the women could maintain their income, buy the necessary jars to preserve the products and obtain the ingredients that we use to produce our food such as oil and sugar,” says Akiki.
“This was able to meet our financial needs, replenished our capital and offset our losses: we were able to resume our activities at a time when many companies were closing”.
UN aid
In total, the UN has supported 94 cooperatives from different villages in Lebanon, such as Deir Al Ahmar, Fneidek, Qana, Harissa and Lehfed, all of them with a focus on empowering women.
This support has been in the form of both cash payment for the work done and support in kind, such as raw materials, equipment and tools.
At least 6,000 people have benefited from the $4.4 million projectfinanced by the German Development Bank KfW, through the United Nations Development Program.
The Al Atayeb cooperative has been a key factor in surviving the crisis by helping many families in Kfardebian, making the women proud of themselves and their community.
“Our cooperative represents the values we believe in,” Akiki says proudly. “We work with passion. We help our community and serve the public good.”
As the global food and fuel crisis deepens, the Lebanon crisis is affecting “everyone, everywhere.”
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