The approach we use to accomplish the improvement of the status of Arab women is firstly based on our accumulated experience as an organization that works with the Arab public and secondly on the results achieved by many other public and private entities, which also have worked over the past several years for the improvement of Arab society, especially for the improvement of the lives of Arab women. Our experience has taught us that many of the negative aspects of our society go hand in hand with the inability of Arab women to overcome the obstacles that prevent them from realizing their ambitions. From early age women are influenced by unacceptable phenomena that are still found in a big part of the Arab society, especially in more traditional rural areas. Among these phenomena are violence against women, early marriage, denial of inheritance, and limitation of social and economic activity beyond the confines of the family. This influence from early age prevents the women from achieving economic independence in spite of their own efforts and the efforts invested on their behalf by organizations such as Ahali. The women who participate in Ahali’s women’s project receive training to increase their personal and social awareness, undergo intensive sessions to prepare them for social and economic empowerment and assertiveness, as well as receiving individual guidance towards becoming independent entrepreneurs or women activists in their communities. Experience in the field demonstrates clearly that the economic independence that the women eventually obtains after completing the training course ensures and enhances their ability to overcome such phenomena that diminish their status and prevent their succumbing to situations of distress and outright injury; personal, psychological or economic.
From another angle, the more a woman’s contribution to her family’s economic well being, the more her personal status within the family improves and the easier it becomes for her to build and form the family and the personal and social attitudes of its members. Our main goal is to contribute to the personal development of the Arab woman through a combination of social and economic empowerment.
The motto that has developed in the course of our activities is that economic empowerment assists and supports social empowerment. Therefore, the programs devoted to project groups were generally comprised of three elements: social empowerment, instilling technical know-how and development of business management tools, and the ability to think in economic terms of profitability. Within the project it was decided that the workshops had to combine training aspects as well as the development of specific technical knowledge in subjects in agriculture and rural activities suitable for women; one could not ignore the fact that women have very limited access to training institutions, especially with respect to agriculture or topics such as domestic processing and production. Thus, under the present conditions of general economic and social distress within Arab society, emphasis must be placed on using underutilized existing abilities and women’s resources. Our programs strive to reinforce the existing possibilities and to expand women’s knowledge both in agriculture and in home processing of mainly agricultural products. The same products previously had not been considered as income generators or contributors to status in spite of their contribution to the family. We are aware that the provided knowledge in this area requires constant updating and upgrading to eventually serve as the basis on which initially a small individual business and later, as the activity develops, a broader joint initiative will be created.
Since its beginning in early 2004, the project policy has aimed at a continuously increasing rate of development and expansion. It strives for efficiency and effectiveness in its activities and for long-term sustainability, to be achieved through a radiating and diffusion influence beyond the immediate project limits. To ensure achievement of these goals, project activities aimed at the following:
§ Exploitation of existing relevant physical and human resources within the villages themselves to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of existing organizations and institutions to improve the status of rural women. This improvement will be achieved by taking two steps: First reaching as many women as possible with a continuing and sustainable plan of action for them and second, expanding the effects of the activities to growing segments of the population.
§ Strengthening of women’s status will be based on activities that combine their social empowerment with economic and technical empowerment. It is a proven fact that there is a strong synergy between these two effects and that together they bring about useful practical results and present strong social challenges to the women within their society.
§ Creation of “binding” local social frameworks for women at village level and linking them to a broader, country wide framework that offers them a feeling of belonging among women at both levels. This increases the self-confidence of each individual woman within her own group and of each local group within the broader regional or national organization.
§ Inclusion of women in all activities of the Arab Farmers’ Project within which a subproject, “Equal Opportunities for Women in Agriculture” is being conducted. This inclusion is achieved by enrolling the women as members of the Arab Farmers Organization of Israel and electing them in the organization’s institutions. Their status within the community will be positively influenced by their participation together with the men in field trips and professional activities, as well as conducting field experiments on their land, using their crops, and by conducting experiments on farms managed by women.
§ Utilization of the capabilities and available services of Palestinian experts to assist in achieving social and economic empowerment. This should ensure development and expansion of the local professionals’ skills. .
§ Assistance in the training of women professionals within the Palestinian population in Israel. In this way they will have a greater contribution, especially with respect to community development among the rural women and their support of the development of local leadership among rural women.
§ As for economic empowerment, the project strategy is based on training women in entrepreneurship and the establishment and development of an independent business, whether by an individual or within a partnership or a group. The project provides technical training to the extent that it is required.
§ It is imperative to maintain contact with groups that complete the formal project program. Ties among the groups remain and offer the opportunity for neophytes to learn from the experience gained by the graduates who are actively managing their businesses. These ties also strengthen the national group and create a forum for women’s activities and self-fulfillment.
More than a year after the initiation of the project, a modus operandi was developed through consultation with the group members themselves, the local partners in the villages and the experts and specialists who contributed to the project. The project management is pleased that already at this stage of project implementation women’s groups have been trained and given the abilities to begin business operations or independent productions. The same groups also serve as a source for new ideas and for examination of additional needs of rural women. They offer their valuable personal insights in regard to the possibility of developing new initiatives, and propose complementary services to assist the new businesses. All these aspects should improve the prospects of achieving project goals.
Regarding the strategy and project management’s views as described above, and after 18 months of activities, it will be useful to undertake a professional evaluation of project achievements in order to learn from it with respect to directions and scope of future activities. This evaluation might be within the framework of an extension of the present project or as part of broader, more general programs. With this in mind, during the period September – December the project intends to conduct a systematic, scientific, professional evaluation of the progress achieved in the villages and groups that benefited from project activities during the first half of the project implementation period.
Summary of group activities Groups continuing since2004
Al Batuf Regional Council –Women’s Activist Committee
Group progress: The group had 20 meetings that focused on two main topics – enhancing awareness and the formation of a local action committee. Between June and August 2005 the group will undergo an additional stage: In ten meetings it will develop a program for the year, accompanied by a group tutor.
The group is active as a local women’s committee that promotes activities for the women of the Al Batuf Regional Council. At its own initiative it began organizing as a local club, meeting regularly, setting activity goals and developing a work program for the year. It continues to receive group guidance in how to develop the organization and the best way to initiate activities. Six of the group members started to manage the farm of the family.
Among the group’s activities: Lectures on the family and violence in society, collection of contributions and clothing for children of two villages in the vicinity of Tulkarem (adjacent to Israel’s Wall), leisure activities for women members.
The local partner, the Welfare Bureau, marshaled a budget from the Ministry of Labor and Welfare to help finance group activities and the continuation of the group guidance.
Tamra Women’s group: Empowerment and agricultural training
The group underwent a training course of 40 hours in various agricultural topics, which ended in September 2004. On its completion, some of the women chose to continue and to establish their own independent domestic farm unit which they individually manage. To date, four women have invested jointly in a bee farm and began marketing honey in June 2005. Two other women each planted a 5-dunam plot of pomegranates. They received an individual loan from a women oriented loans fund, and they are paying the quotes according the returning schedule.
The entrepreneurs continue to receive guidance from Ahali which also offers them technical training in their fields. Two other women intend to participate in field experiments that the project has planned for the coming agricultural season in cooperation with experts of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The female farmers in Tamra, practicing bee- keeping.
The female farmers in Tamra, practicing bee- keeping.
Arrabeh: Development of rural entrepreneurship
In December 2004 the group completed an intensive 125-hour course in Rural Entrepreneurship. After this course they continued with a further ten hours of individual consultations in marketing and the establishment of a personal business between January and July 2005. Of 22 workshop participants, five women embarked on a “Business for Yourself” project and applied for loans to help establish a business. Four women, who previously had managed personal home businesses, continue their business after introducing improvements about which they learned in the empowerment sessions of the project. In general, the group is active in several areas in the village of Arrabeh. About 20 women have joined in social activities through local women’s committees. They claim that the reinforcement they received and the course they participated in enabled them to discover their own strengths and abilities and to contribute to their community.
Recently, the group independently initiated the establishment of a training course for the production of curtains, which they will finance on their own. This initiative will assist women who have not yet formulated practical ideas for developing their own personal businesses. Within the group they are weighing the possibility of developing a joint venture to manufacture curtains. Ahali continues to accompany them and to organize the consultation sessions, the follow-up and assistance in submission of loan requests, and the coordination with local institutions to organize the new workshop. An estimated 15 women implemented directly what they learned in the business and entrepreneurship workshops. This in addition to the increased community oriented activity that most of the participants began to demonstrate as a result of the stimulation of their social awareness and empowerment during the course. According to a statement by the local partners of the project, the group became the center of women’s activities and their training stimulated the establishment of new community initiatives in various frameworks, influenced by the program success and its received publicity in the village and its environs.
One of the participants receiving her certify during the graduation meeting in Arrabeh, which was also attended by the head of the local counsel.
Kofor Kara: Training and economic empowerment in commercialization of olives and oil
The group comprises of 20 women of Kofor Kara. In the first stage of the project they participated in a special training program of twenty sessions that offered them knowledge and skills in social empowerment and in the production and processing of olive oil and other olive products. In addition, the women attended a series of lectures and exercises about the formulation of a business plan and the procedures to follow when establishing a new business.
In the second stage of the project the group decided to establish a small plant to produce and market olive oil, olives and other home preserved pickles. Ten women decided to participate in this joint venture. Presently they are in the process of drawing up a business plan for the plant and are undergoing training with a food technologist on the production of preserved pickles. During August, the partners will participate in seven business guidance sessions offered by a specialist in business economics and will produce an operations plan for the plant.
The Local Council supports the group by offering a building to house the plant for its first two years until it is able to operate independently.
During the summer months the group began marketing pickles on an experimental basis, producing and selling some 1,000 kg of various products in the region.
One of the participants receiving her certify during the graduation meeting in Kofor Kara.
Ilabun – Training in the cultivation of medicinal plants.
The Ilabun group’s program began in March 2005 and focused on the cultivation of medicinal plants. In June a 120-hour workshop was completed that included social empowerment and science, general health topics, practical sessions in the preparation of medicinal and cosmetic creams and ointments. An important component involved training in entrepreneurship and the preparation of business plans. Several field tours rounded out the program. The El Maissem Center for Research and Development was a key partner. The local welfare bureau and the YMCA also participated.
In the present stage, the group plans to develop eight individual products based on olive oil and essential oils derived from locally grown medicinal plants. The group is thinking about organizing in the future an exhibition to be able to present their products. This exhibition will be the beginning of a marketing campaign for the group’s products. It will offer a chance to introduce these new products to a broad local group of potential consumers and at the same time will enable the group members to exercise their newly acquired marketing skills.
The course trained some 15 women, ten of whom intend to continue in practical business development. The planned exhibition will offer them a first experience in the world of commerce and marketing. The next phase of the program involves follow up, continued business management training, individual guidance of the woman in subjects of product quality, increasing participants’ knowledge in the field, and preparation of marketing plans.
A great part of the training was held in the lab of Al Maysam center, the women of Ilabun group during one of the tests in the laboratory.
Kalansawa – Business development.
Nineteen women joined the Kalansawa group, the majority from farmer families with strong motivation to develop their business acumen and establish independent businesses of their own. The program began in March 2005 and runs with the cooperation of the local community center.
As in Ilabun, the training course involved 120 hours of training in social empowerment and business-related subjects, including business development, marketing and preparation of a business plan. To date the group is midway through the course that is designed for one year. During the course, the participants receive individual business counseling pertaining to their own specific needs, in addition to the general course topics.
Thus far, between five and seven women have launched independent business activities. Two participants have also registered for additional studies to complement their knowledge gained in the general course offered by the project. The additional courses include jewelry making and photography. The courses run in conjunction with the “Business of your Own ” project.
The group of Kalansawa, visiting the women in Tamra during a study tour, and hearing from them about the bee keeping business.
Sakhnin: Home processing of food.
A special short-term workshop was designed on the basis of a survey of women’s needs and on special requests received from women who approached the project management. The workshop will be conducted in two main centers, one in the Galilee and one in the Triangle, and will focus on increasing general improvement of awareness and knowhow in agriculture and home food processing. It differs from other courses insofar as it is open to any woman demonstrating an interest in the course subject matter without minimum requirements or acceptance criteria such as age, education level and others. The syllabus contains three main sections: agricultural production and food processing, bee keeping and development of home food gardens.
As a first stage, a course on food processing was organized in Sakhnin. Its main theme dealt with the substitution of “synthetic”, industrially processed foods by locally grown and domestically processed food. Twenty-four participants participated in six meetings on subjects such as: processing of dairy products, jam preparation, pickling and other preserves etc. The participants were from four villages in the Galilee. The second group starts in September in Sakhnin, followed by a third group in Baka el Gharbiya in the Triangle region.
The group in Sakhnen, during one of the training meetings.
Jisr a Zarka: Economic empowerment and the manufacturing of candles and soap.
Project activities in this village, just south of Haifa, are directed to open new economic horizons for the fishermen’s wives, enabling them to augment the meager income obtained from fishing the coastal waters of the Mediterranean. The group comprises of 15 housewives and unemployed women with few economic opportunities. The program began in May 2005. The areas of training were chosen after the women had undergone a number of sessions to develop a group spirit and to probe the areas of interest that they felt would offer the best opportunities to improve their lot. They judged the alternatives presented to them in the light of their abilities, the reality of their situation at home and in the community and the market potential for various product groups.
The group decided to focus on the production of candles and soap in general, and olive oil and its products in particular. At the end of the reporting period they were just beginning to undergo practical training after having completed five sessions on social and personal improvement topics and four others on candle manufacture. Ten more meetings are scheduled to cover additional aspects of candle and soap manufacturing. During the second phase of the project the group will receive personal guidance until they actually establish business activities.
Jesr Alzarqa group, training in producing candles.
Maker – Economic empowerment and food production and processing.
The program goal in Maker is to train a group of women to establish a food business based on home processing of agricultural products including dairy, jams and comfitures, pickles and other preserves.
The group began its activities in March 2005, completing a series of 14 sessions on social empowerment and food processing, entrepreneurship and business management. At present, 15 women are pursuing the development of two business ventures in food. The women who chose jointly to develop a business will receive in-depth training from a group of business management and marketing experts who will accompany them through all phases of the establishment of an active enterprise.
Project activities in this village are carried out with the participation and cooperation of the Women’s Center of Jedida-Maker.
Maker group, the graduation meeting attended by the priest Father Makhul al-Maker and the local counsel representative.
Agricultural experiment plots.
1. Tamra - Experimental cucumber plot.
This plot is cultivated and managed by a female farmer from Tamra. The purpose of the trial is to test the advantage of trellising of cucumbers in open field cultivation. The experiment is conducted under the guidance of experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. It is the first experiment of its kind in Israel, trellising has been used exclusively in greenhouses until now. The importance of trellising lies not only in the improvement in the yield quantity and quality, but also in the change in the character of the work on the plants and during the harvest. It reduces usually incurred medical risks, especially chronic back problems from which most of the women from Tamra suffered throughout the years. A successful experiment may induce some of the women to return to cucumber production and again take up the management of their agricultural holdings.
The experimental plot:
Nahida Diab, the owner of the plot, during the harvest.
Trellising of cucumbers plants in open field
2. Bik’at Netofa - Experimental plot of medicinal plants.
The plot belongs to a female farmer from the village of Ozeir in the Al Batuf Regional Council. It is planted with a crop of Citrullus, which has provided traditional Arab healers in the Middle East for centuries with treatments for a range of ills, and is one of the first field trials being run on medicinal plants. The yield of the plot will provide the raw material for products that will be produced by the women’s groups. It will also supply seeds for expansion of the area in which Citrullus will be planted in the future. In addition to providing the initial amount of raw material for the development of saleable products, the experiment will also render cost data for calculating the profitability of the crop. The extension service will use the results of the experiment to develop optimal production methods that will be taught to new (female) farmers who want to join the production of medical plants.
Citrullus’ Medicinal Plant Fruit
Experimental plot of medicinal plants: the farmer Outra Khatep, during the field visit of Dr. Omar Saed, the supervisor of the experiment.
Program to Train Arab Women as Moderators and Lecturers in Women’s Entrepreneurship and Community Leadership
As the topics of entrepreneurship and business management are an integral part of the courses offered rural Arab women, and the women themselves demonstrate a keen interest in them, it very rapidly became evident that there was a scarcity of women with the necessary training to lead training groups and discussions on women in business and as leaders in community activities. Both Ahali – Center for Community Development and the “Business of Your Own” project felt the lack of such personnel. It was a short logical step to the idea of developing a training course for women with the necessary educational qualifications and experience in business management and economics, and to create a trained human resource reserve for projects aimed at the economic empowerment of women. The training program is jointly financed by Ahali and “A Business of Your Own” project.
Program objectives: Training of a cadre of Arab women who serve as moderators and lecturers on economics and business management and who will be able to assist Arab women throughout the country in establishing independent small businesses and community enterprises.
Target audience: Arab women with university education in economics or business administration, with high motivation to help Arab women advance economically and the will to promote community activities to help improve the social and economic status of rural Arab women.
The workshop was launched in June of 2005 with 15 participants. It involves six days of lectures and training, totaling 48 hours.
The program “Training of Trainers”, on economic empowerment and social leadership-one of the group’s meetings held in Haifa.
A Seminar: Summary of 18 months of activities
On June 19, 2005 a special seminar was convened that brought together all the women participating in Ahali’s workshops “Empowerment of Rural Women”.
The goals set for the meeting:
§ To enable the women of different groups and villages to meet and develop ties.
§ To expose the women to the project’s various fields of activity and enable them to expand their own horizons and areas of interest.
§ Evaluation by the participants of the activities offered by the project.
§ Enhancement of the participants’ feeling of belonging by enabling them to obtain a close-up view of the Ahali activities.
Of 173 participants in project activities, 150 women from nine villages of the Galilee and the Triangle took part in the seminar. The program for the day included presentations by each of the groups about their programs and activities, accompanied by an exhibition of photographs of the women at work in their group meetings and activities. A representative of PARC, the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, spoke on Palestinian women’s savings cooperatives in the West Bank and the creation of a loan fund for women to draw on to finance their individual enterprises.
During the day the audience was divided into individual groups that provided constructive criticism on the activities presented and described by each participant. These “intimate” workshops enabled the women to become much closer and to offer sincere comments – both positive and negative – on the projects presented, and to offer recommendations for future activities. In a general wrap-up session the groups presented their findings, conclusions and recommendations. The general opinion of the women participating was that the course and the project were very useful and that they were satisfied with the content and the direction the training took.
Group conclusions and recommendations
§ The groups should be enlarged and the number of women benefitting from the project should be increased. This because of the importance of the project for the participants, both on the personal level and professionally, and because of the benefit for the community.
§ Increased networking among the groups should be considered. This might improve the marketing abilities of individual women through creation of the additional personal ties with women from other villages. They will be able to exchange products, discuss experiences, and offer each other advice and moral support.
§ Preparation of a publication to serve as a marketing tool among the participant groups. It will describe the products and how to obtain them and should be broadly distributed throughout Arab towns and villages.
§ The women expressed a need for additional studies to complement what they had learned. They particularly were interested in technical topics to improve their skills, including courses in computer operation and the internet as a business tool.
§ The women stressed the need for a deepening of knowledge in marketing and advertising and in product design.
§ They asked for a survey of export market potential for their products.
§ The participants asked for the creation of a permanent advisory unit to provide economic and business guidance on an individual basis, according to the progress that each business makes and the specific problems each one faces. The areas most in need of a source of ready advice are economics, legal issues and sources of finance.
§ More tours to businesses in other regions would help to introduce the participants to new and different women’s initiatives.
§ Assistance in the financing of personal initiatives (whether individual or collective) is always needed and welcome.
§ The groups expressed a desire to learn from the experience of other organizations on the formation of community savings and loan funds.
Note: The analysis of the information gathered from the participants during the summary sessions of the seminar now serves the project management to improve the design of future activities and increase the effectiveness of the courses offered.
The all groups seminar:
One of the participants presenting the recommendations of the small workshops.
The groups mixed and facilitated in small workshops.
Groups planned to the end of 2005
I. Cultivation and processing of medicinal plants
This topic has gained in importance recently. There is a general tendency in society to return to a more natural way of life and consequently more consumers are turning to natural products, whether for food, medicines or cosmetics. This offers new opportunities for women to find special niches in the local market. This is reinforced by the extensive traditions in Arab society in which local plants and materials have served traditional healers as medication for a wide range of complaints. There is an extensive body of knowledge available that can be applied in various forms. The project management views the potential for advancing women in this field as existing on several levels: cultivation and production of medicinal plants, processing and development of products as food additives, medications and cosmetics, and promotion and marketing of the products both domestically and in export markets (cf description of experimental cultivation of medicinal plants in the village of Ozeir). Multiple opportunities exist for women to develop unique initiatives in agriculture or home processing that may prove complementary and open the door for cooperation among a number of women who can produce a variety of products for the market. The project intends to train at least 100 women by the end of 2006, with the possibility of creating a network of producers of a variety of medicinal plants, and a range of natural medicinal and cosmetic products suitable for the local traditional market. By this the project would be capable – with appropriate market development and sales promotion – of breaking out into the large centers of urban population in Israel and beyond.
Localities: The Triangle – A Regional Program
The Galilee - Kafr Kanna and Kafr Reina, adjacent to Nazareth.
Target audience: Partially employed or unemployed Arab women with at least a high school education.
Program goals: Training women in the preparation of cosmetics and other products of herbs and medicinal plants as the basis for establishing businesses in this field, as well as social training towards empowerment and promotion of women’s affairs in the community.
Group programs: In addition to the training, the program will include 120 hours of lectures and practical training in the manufacture of cosmetics from locally grown medicinal plants that grow naturally in the region. The course also contains sections on financial management and marketing and the preparation of business plans. The course is presented in two sections; following the 120 hours of basic training, the participants perform individual mini projects in which each woman must undertake the preparation of a cosmetic product from one of the local medicinal plants. Each participant receives individual guidance in the preparation and the quality control of the product.
Partners: - In the Triangle region, the project is carried out with the cooperation of the regional R&D Center, located in Kafr Kara.
- In the Galilee, Al Meissam (The Galilee Society R&D Center) is the main partner, along with the Local Authorities of Kafr Kanna and Reina.
The process and its progress:
The Triangle: Organization of the group began in May 2005. Thirty women from eight villages in the region registered. They were contacted through women’s centers, local societies and newspaper advertisements. The first meeting took place on July 26, 2005. The program will continue till January 2006. It is comprised of weekly five-hour sessions, divided into theoretical lectures and practical laboratory sessions and accompanied by four guided field trips, in which the participants visit farms and successful businesses which implement new technologies, especially farms where women are involved in the management.
The Galilee: In Kafr Kanna the project was developed in cooperation with the Women’s Council of the Local Authority. Enlistment of women for the course began in July and it is scheduled to open in September 2005. In Reina village, the partner is the local welfare bureau which is helping to organize the group. The course will begin as soon as the registration of a sufficient number of women is complete. Both groups will gain theoretical and practical knowledge on growing natural herbal species and medicinal plants, on producing cosmetic products containing these plants, and on managing the agricultural and the industrial processes.
2. Apiculture
In light of the success of the first bee culture initiative in Tamra, the project management plans another two bee-growing groups with the goal of training Arab women to raise bees and produce honey domestically.
Apiculture was a traditional domestic occupation of Arab women until about 30 years ago but as modern ways penetrated rural society, bee keeping began to fade as a woman’s activity and the traditional skills that previously had been handed down through the generations were no longer practised or passed on to the younger women of the village. The project management regards apiculture as an important activity, both as an important source of income from sales to the local market and because it is suitable and accessible as a women’s occupation in the rural home.
Group 1 in Kafr Kara: Training began in September 2005 of fifteen women who are interested in taking up apiculture as a serious occupation. The course is conducted in partnership with the Women’s Council and with the help of the Chairman of the Local Authority in the village.
Group 2 planned for the Galilee: The group will be organized on a regional basis, centered in Sakhnin. As soon as 15 women have registered, the course will begin at the beginning of November 2005.
Entrepreneurship for Women
One group is planned for the village of Daburya in the Marj Ebin Amer Valley region, close to the Tabour mountain. This village was chosen for this particular training course for two main reasons:
• It is a well-known agricultural village, and the women have a positive attitude towards accomplishing better farming opportunities.
• In this village exists a very active community center, they are very interested in the promotion of the women activities in farming and agriculture.
Project management considers it of paramount importance to encourage women (especially unemployed women) to establish their own businesses and to free themselves from the existential threat of dependence on the dole. The development of a partnership with local institutions in Daburya and registration of women for the women’s entrepreneurship training course will b
Additional activities planned till December 2005
1. Study Day: presentation of the results of agricultural experiments.
The target audience is comprised of male and female Arab farmers. In November 2005, a daylong seminar is planned to present the results of agricultural experiments, initiated by the project and conducted in the villages of Tamra and Ozeir. The results of two more experiments from the Arab Farmers’ Project in Tamra will also be shown. The purpose of the meeting is to encourage women to take an interest in improved agricultural methods and to adopt them in their own fields.
2. Publications. An information brochure for women on how to establish an apiary on their agricultural holding or adjacent to their home. It is to be published in September 2005.
3. Project evaluation. An external evaluation of the project (18 months of activities evaluation), its achievements and its flaws is critical at this stage. It will enable the project management to fine-tune the next phase and to improve activities on the basis of the experience gained in the first phase. The proposed evaluation is to focus on project development, the degree to which goals were achieved, lessons learned from project experiences and examination of revisions and improvements introduced. The levels evaluated will be:
- Project management and implementation: the degree to which the organizational and management structures are appropriate for the achievement of the project goals.
- The degree to which the social and economic empowerment programs influenced the target project participants.
- Creation of partnerships, networking and project cooperation with groups and organizations in the field.
- The indirect effect of the project on various aspects of Arab rural society and the extent to which it radiates towards those in the circles touching on the project groups in their localities.
An external expert will carry out the evaluation between August and November 2005.
Evaluation activities will include: - Evaluation of the functioning and performance of project staff.
- Interviews with several participants of the women project.
- Examination of partnerships and interviews with professionals and local partners.
- An evaluation questionnaire to be completed by the participants of the groups.
- Evaluation of the indirect influence of the project in the circles external to the project (rural society, family, institutions)
- Preparation of the analysis, evaluation and final summary report.
4. Day long seminar: “Learning from the experience of women’s savings cooperatives”.
Target audience: the members of the project’s training groups and representatives of rural women’s groups of Arab villages.
The seminar intends to fill the need of women’s groups to develop the necessary resources to finance their businesses. Among these financial resources might be independent cooperative savings and loan funds to be developed and managed by the group members. One of the recommendations of the seminar held in June was to study the experience of PARC (Palestine Agricultural Relief Committees) in this area.
The planned seminar will be an appropriate forum to present the idea and to examine its practicality among Arab women in general, but initially among the participants of the project in Ahali. According to the spirit of the seminar discussion, Ahali will examine the possibility of developing a special project based on the operation of this type of cooperative savings and loan fund.
A general evaluation of the initial project period
In recent years, agriculture is once again considered as a practical and a socially acceptable option for women in Arab society. On this background, the messages carried out by the project have been received favorably in the villages where groups have been organized. The main messages carried out by the project include encouragement of women to strive for economic independence, the importance of the exploitation of available and underutilized agricultural resources, the value in substitution of naturally grown and home processed produce for manufactured and “synthetic” goods, and the promotion of fair trade practices that offer the producers and small farmers – including women - a fair return for their efforts. Both the project groups, having undergone training and education as agents of change in their societies and communities, and various public media have disseminated these ideas and raised the general social awareness of their importance. Project activities received broad media coverage and significant publicity, spreading project influence well beyond the narrow confines of the individual groups.
As for community responses to project efforts, the project management can clearly state that after 18 months of activity among women’s groups in selected villages, the project definitely has aroused a positive response from them. In the wake of the enhanced awareness of the improved possibilities opened up by the project, the management is constantly approached by local groups, community organizations, individuals, and local and regional authorities to include them in the program. This, it may be noted with some degree of satisfaction, comes after the outset that it would be very difficult to convince women of the potential to be found in developing agriculture-based economic enterprises. In this aspect, the project has created a significant change of attitude among a growing number of village women.
At the personal level of the project participants, the women who spoke during the June evaluation seminar had the following comments:
- They perceived a definite personal enrichment with respect to information that helped them with personal and family aspects of their lives.
- Participation in group activities broadened their social circles, had the possibility to participate in programs for their personal enrichment and learned to organize their time more effectively. Project activities improved their personal mood and changed their daily routine.
- The project improved the women’s self-assurance and confidence, stimulated their personal potential and gave them faith in their own abilities. This improvement was expressed in both the family and the community. The social content of the courses increased their social awareness and enabled them to embrace more assertive interpersonal communication styles. They began to develop more efforts to satisfy their own personal needs, rather than mainly those of their husbands and families.
- The program enabled participants to overcome social obstacles that in the past had prevented them from initiating actions to improve their own destiny.
- Having acquired new approaches to consumption and to domestic production, project participants have become active in various economic activities such as domestic production, mainly of food products, and have taken initial steps towards marketing of surpluses to the surrounding community. Thus they are contributing to the improvement of the family finances and by this also gaining respect within the family.
- Participants reported that the program had increased their awareness of issues of fair trade and consumerism. Many have begun to purchase and consume products produced by women in small businesses or small farmers.
The change in the women’s attitude towards the personal changes that have occurred as a result of their participation in the project is an extremely important element because the faith in their own abilities to cope with social pressures, to demonstrate self assurance and assertiveness are as critical as the technical knowledge and information they gained in production techniques and in agriculture. However, many women expressed the opinion that the “attitude-segment” of the program was too limited and should be expanded in future programs and projects.
Have the groups developed business acumen and an economic approach?
The comments and recommendations of the participants in the June seminar review of the first phase of the project are a clear proof that the women have developed a definite business-oriented approach to their economic activities. They referred to the need of networking and development of contacts between women from different villages to offer support and assistance in production and especially in marketing. They also commented on future needs and listed specific programs that would help them achieve their professional and economic business goals. The impression obtained from the comments and reactions of the participants is that they received additional background information and understanding of the economic and social contexts, which will be a strong base for development of independent or joint business activities, and within which they will operate and live.
The business initiatives that developed within the group activities
All nine village groups have developed business initiatives. Each business was designed individually according to the capabilities and the financial base of the participant, with guidance and assistance from the project staff, especially with respect to sources of finance. At present we do not consider the number of initiatives as a key indicator in judging project progress. The knowledge and training they absorbed during the course will stand these women in good stead when conditions appear ripe for them to develop their own individual business.
The availability of credit or other forms of financing however is definitely critical and serves as a serious obstacle to many women in their attempts to establish an independent business. In some cases it even prevented women within the project from participating in joint business initiatives. Lack of financial security hovers over these would-be entrepreneurs as a permanent threat that cannot be ignored. As long as Arab women do not have access to government small business funds, the project management realizes that it will have to develop financing programs that will reduce the level of financial risk for these women.
The participants also expressed a need for continued close guidance and professional advice, especially with respect to the economic aspects of business management. From project experience in the field it is clear that once several profitable business initiatives have taken off, the availability of continued management support and marketing guidance will become the necessary condition for successful economic survival in a competitive business environment. Certainly, at least as much effort must be invested in the preservation and improvement of these initiatives as was devoted to their establishment.
Business of your Own – Short Presentation
The “Business of your Own” project trains women as entrepreneurs and prepares them to establish a small business of their own. This is where collaboration with Ahali – Center for Community Development comes in, adding to the cooperation in the “Training of the Trainers” project that prepares women to serve as extension and training personnel to guide and assist women entrepreneurs as they attempt to establish independent businesses of their own.
Another area of cooperation is the cooperators’ seminar that attempts to improve individual local women’ programs by offering a venue for exchange of information, sharing of experiences, and in depth discussions among the participants on how to handle problems and on lessons to be learned from the accumulated experience of the various groups.
Report I 
