08 October 2007
BEIRUT: An evening walk through the busy district of Gemmayzeh could be anywhere in the world - save for the occasional bullet-scarred building. There is nothing distinctively Lebanese about the cocktail bars and sushi restaurants, which is perhaps how the young, cosmopolitan crowd likes it.
Over the weekend, however, there was a different vibe at Gemmayzeh Cafe, a traditional restaurant standing incongruously next to a "Godfather"-themed Italian eatery.
The marketing unit of the Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action (CRTD-A) organized a Fitr Bazaar in the cavernous restaurant, selling locally made produce at fair-trade prices from rural women cooperatives.
There are 77 of these cooperatives across the Lebanese countryside, mainly set up by the US Agency for International Development and the Young Men's Christian Association. They produce healthy, natural foods free from chemicals, their motto being "we feed our customers like we feed our children."
The women use local recipes handed down from generation to generation, and the focus is on tradition and heritage. The food they produce is mainly preserves and pickles, and the tables at Gemmayzeh Cafe were heaving on Thursday night with an array of tasty, wholesome-looking morsels. The children of the producers were helping out selling their wares, while women jostled to take a look at the goods.
According to the CRTD-A team, the opening night was a success. Everybody who had been invited turned up - plus a few extras; plenty of the products were sold; and, most importantly, everybody showed a strong interest in both the produce and the project. Names and contacts details were taken from customers in order to inform them of future events, and hopefully build a client base.
Omar Traboulsi, project coordinator for the CRTD-A, said that the main purpose of the event was to raise awareness of the cooperatives and make links with potential customers.
He explained that the major problem the women running the cooperatives face is marketing. They have the funds and the ability to make their products, but lack the resources and the technical know-how to find a market for them.
This is where the marketing unit of the CRTD-A, funded by Oxfam Quebec and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), steps in. They try to promote the produce from the women's cooperatives in two ways: firstly by encouraging women to get in touch with potential customers and training them to do so; and secondly by advertising in Beirut and other cities.
According to Traboulsi their aim is to "play on the solidarity between rural and urban women," a tactic that is seen in the large "Our Village, Your Neighbor" message printed on the front of their leaflets.
Mahmoud al-Adawi, a representative of Oxfam Quebec, says that the cooperatives are central to CIDA's policy of women's empowerment and economic development in Lebanon. The work provides women with economic independence while at the same time bringing money into poorer rural communities.
There are already nearly 1,000 agricultural cooperatives in Lebanon, but less than 100 are run by women and most do not produce the healthy, organic foods that the rural women cooperatives make.
"The government has no vision for rural development," said Traboulsi. "If it did, it would support the women's cooperatives."
There is a cooperative department in the Ministry of Agriculture but it is crippled by inefficiency and lack of funds, and tends to be male-orientated. This is despite the fact that studies have shown that as women tend to manage the economy of the home and family life they are better placed to run small home-based businesses and spend profits wisely.
