Lebanon

• Cooperatives sharing the UN agencies their day

They came from the Bekaa, the North and from South Lebanon. Around 30 cooperatives participated in the exhibition of the UN day that took place on Friday the 24th of October at the Roof Pavilion Royal at Biel.

This year's celebration was characterized by the culinary diversity of the country through different colorful and handmade products, ranging from the conventional ones such as thyme, rose water, to the more unusual such as pumpkin jam, carob molasses and even distilled medical plants.

Highlighting their activities and achievements, Ms. Daad Ismail, director of the women's cooperative for production and food processing in Deir Kanoun Ras El Ein, mentioned that the cooperative empowers women to become part of the civil society. It also ensures their independency in terms of employment and puts together the collective skills in traditional food preparation to get much more income and to bring into light the importance of women's role in the society".

"With UNDP's support through the provision of machineries, a mini van, and a generator, the production was doubled, and we were able to promote our products" Ms. Ismail added.

Most of the participating cooperatives aim at helping local producers and farmers and collaborating with them for stocking raw materials.

"Through such collaboration, we encourage the local farmers and producers to stay in the village and to double their production", said the representative of the agricultural cooperative for production and food processing in Ein Ebel.

Also present at the celebration, the agriculture public cooperative of Houla, is one of the oldest cooperatives in the South and is known for its olive and laurel oil and for its traditional "baladi" soap. It aims at improving the socio-economic living conditions of its 220 members and of the farmers of the village of Houla.

According to Mr. Walid Atallah, UNDP head of Bekaa sub office, UNDP began working with the cooperatives of the Bekaa in 2007, knowing that most of these cooperatives were established in 1996.

Other than food processing, some cooperatives that handle handcrafts and handmade products also participated in the event. During the event, the association of the rural development in Arsal (Bekaa region) held a live show of rug manufacturing.

Established in 1990 to improve the social situation of the families and to provide job opportunities to women in the village of Arsal, this cooperative is well-known for its carpet and rug manufacturing.

"We are only being able to promote our products in Arsal and in the surrounding villages" said Mr. Ahmad Fliti, vice president of the association.

Another cooperative in the Bekaa that recognized the need for expenditure is the Wadi El Taym women's cooperative. Founded in 2004, by a group of women who started selling homemade products individually, the cooperative now helps 30 women to produce ready-to-eat gourmet items and different kind of jams. It is currently working on having broader export with the help of many international organizations.

It should be noted that UNDP's programmes have been targeting cooperatives since 2001 in South Lebanon, 2004 in the North and 2007 in the Bekaa, to introduce the notion of cooperative work and empower them with technical and managerial skills. These programmes aim at supporting the cooperatives in networking among each other, with donors and NGOs as well.