5 November 2008
The widespread of cluster bombs following the July 2006 war affected the livelihoods of several communities among which wild collectors of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs), such as local Oregano collectors in South Lebanon.
Among the several initiatives supported by UNDP for the recovery of livelihoods, a special project for the cultivation of MAPs in several villages was implemented in four communities. One of the villages in which this intervention was very successful is Hallousieh where more than twelve households benefited from UNDP project. UNDP identified the beneficiaries following specific criteria and thorough interviews, ensuring that all of them were actually collectors who lost their source of income due to their inability to collect oregano from the wild which is now filled with cluster bombs. Most of the beneficiaries were women who were extensively involved in this activity in Halloussieh pre July 2006 war.
UNDP rented a piece of land of approximately 10,000 sqm2 with available water supply, essential to the cultivation of oregano. The project set up the drip irrigation system optimizing the efficient usage of water, installed the water container and pumps and finally purchased a generator for adequate power supply. The project also provided the collectors with seedlings to plant the land. The seedlings were produced out of the MAP nursery created by UNDP in Tyre. The project also procured the right fertilizers for this type of production.
The second phase consisted in organizing the cultivation process in a collective manner. The project also conducted training and capacity building activities targeting the selected collectors for optimized cultivation and harvesting. The land was prepared and first planted in April 2008, and the community of Halloussieh is currently harvesting it. The land's produces will be much higher in the second year of cultivation and can be harvested on average twice a year.
This project succeeded in giving back the communities windows of hope for recovering their sources of income. The land can produce a return of more than $1,000 per 1,000 sqm2 which is a much higher return than what was usually collected and sold pre the establishment of this collective land. It also enhanced the concept of collective work; it diminished the impact of biodiversity depletion and removed the human threat of cluster bombs as a result of intensive collection in the open wild.
"This project gave the wild collectors of Halloussieh who were working hap hazardly and randomly in the wild, a land, a technique, equipment. Not only it has secured a reliable source of income but it has also decreased the life threat we were facing because of the cluster bombs in the wild. It also brought us together to work collectively..." says Mr. Hassan Serhan, wild collector.
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Lebanon
