UAWC distributes food processing equipment to women cooperatives

(Palestine, Ramallah, July 2015)- The Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) distributed bread, sweets and pastry equipment to seven women’s cooperatives in the Governorates of Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus, with the participation of agricultural committees and representatives of local communities, the Agriculture Department of Bethlehem and the Agriculture Department Nablus. The activity was within the project of “transition from relief to sustainable livelihood- to enhance food security in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” funded by the Canadian international Development Agency in partnership with CARE International Foundation.

The project director Eng. Doaa’ Zayed stressed that the quality and quantity of the supplied equipment for the targeted cooperatives will bring a tangible change to the level of women’s income in those cooperatives since it will reduce the time and effort of production, hence allow them to increase their production.

Zayed indicated that the aim of the project is to improve the flexibility and ways of sustainable living for the most affected families most from food insecurity in 26 communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The activities of the project include empowering 35 local committees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the empowering the capabilities of rural women in target cooperatives in order to provide income-generating sources in parallel with improving their access to awareness and marketing services.  

The project reinforces UAWC’s vision in empowering women farmers and their families, as well as strengthening their resilience on their land in a development and mass voluntary agricultural framework.