Soap… and other rural products
In order to tackle unemployment among rural Jordanian women, the European Union is providing funds for several productive projects in Ajloun Natural Reserve. A step towards women emancipation…
Sulafa Al Khatib - Amman, Eurojar
Nahal Zawahira got engaged at a young age to a Jordanian military officer. In spite of his scanty income, she agreed to interrupt her university studies and to marry him. But she remained obsessed with the idea of entering the world of work… until the day she participated in a productive project implemented in her village.
Women in the rural areas of Jordan are prisoners of socio-cultural constraints. They can hardly access the world of work, and find themselves stuck between a job in some public administration and a paternal life… until they find happiness with a husband.
By leaving home for work, Nahal overcame the shame barrier and all the tradition rules that rural families impose to their girls. Besides, work helped her resolve her family financial problems.
The productive projects in rural Jordanian areas are infrequent. The solution to unemployment is to exploit natural products and transform them into food processing products, so that they could be sold in the market.
But the fact remains that improving the quality of production and sales operations requires experts’ help. This is why Nahal worked hard to acquire the necessary skills in the House of Soap. With the support of the European Union and the Hans Zaydel Foundation, the Royal Association for the Protection of Nature intensified its efforts to implement the House of Soap project in Arjan village, at a distance of 100 km from the capital city of Amman.
An indivisible part of the society
Women in rural Jordanian areas who used to spend days at home waiting for prince charming, were transformed thanks to training sessions, into active persons who master the soap production techniques. Nahal, among others, became an indivisible part of the society, as she is constantly interacting with the local community and Arab and international tourists that flock to the House of Soap to buy manufactured products.
Nahal and some rural Jordanian women decided to work in the House of Soap to be able of sharing the domestic expenses and to live self sufficiently. For university students, working in the House of Soap was an opportunity to integrate the professional world without having to wait years in order to work in some public administration.
According to the head of the project in the European Union, Bassem Chamoun, “the House of Soap is part of a socio-economic program that aims at supporting rural women and developing their talents and capacities”. The objective is to fight unemployment and poverty in rural areas, to protect the biodiversity of Ajloun Natural Reserve and to maximize the use of its resources in order to help its inhabitants.
Chamoun added that other productive ideas aiming at revitalizing tourism in Ajloun Natural Reserve are in the process of implementation, for example the House of Sweets project which offers work opportunities for rural women, allowing them to make sweets based on natural raw material.
Arabic Calligraphy House
Chamoun explained that “intensive efforts are made to create the Arab Calligraphy House. The idea behind this project is to inculcate, through training sessions, interest in Arab language and calligraphy among tourists. Other projects are also meant to be implemented in Ajloun Natural Reserve, so that rural women would benefit from fair employment opportunities”.
Chamoun also revealed that the European Union intends to construct “touristic paths” that can link ongoing to achieved projects, so that tourists can have an overview on the whole production process undertaken by rural women in this area.
Oline Zawahira, one of the house workers, said that being constantly in contact with tourists helped her learn different languages and cultures. Oline, who was a teacher in the private sector, explained that working in the soap industry allowed her to use skills she developed in producing soap at home. Besides, she is now capable of sharing the decision making with her husband.
As productive projects are infrequent in Ajloun Nature Reserve, Oline considered that the project created work opportunities not only for rural women, but for the whole population living in this area.
N.B: Text translated from Arabic by Eurojar team
I got the impression that this article isn't accurate regarding some facts about women in rural areas because in Jordan most women work with men in agriculture..raising cattle...etc and only the fortunate ones join the public administration and that goes for both genders again! Trying to portray women to be trapped behind shame barriers isn't the whole picture; we need to show that men and women suffer from same problems. Projects like these have great importance and do pay
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I would like to be brief and thank Europa Jaratona program for its achievments in Jordan.
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It is good to hear that there is someone who really cares about our historical monuments. While reading the article, I was hoping to find so many Tunisian names to make sure that, also, in our country there are people who are hell-bent on preserving what is left of a glorious history. Tunisia, thanks to its location, welcomed many civilizations whose leaders built huge and glorious buildings. Not only in cities near the shores, but also in the far west cities like Sbitla, Kasserin...
I believe that in order to save the surviving monuments, there should be a campaign to make Tunisians aware of the significance of such a loss if those buildings become ruins.
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I have read this article with cautious and i was not happy of the approaches being written due i guess to lack of real understanding of current environmental issues we are facing. The problem of pollution will not be tackled only through fundings bec most of the money used is not appropriately used and if ever used we seek the traditional methods the old fashion way. We need to look at alternatives , less costs , better and more sustainable output. Waste problems are derived from mass consumerism and lack of understanding of what our lives should mean to us as far as human values and choices we should take in life. Building waste water treatment is needed but what is more needed is eduation and awereness and return to ethics and values. We can keep dumping money on projects but who would assure me that our resources are being well taken care of and not depleted in a fast way? Where is the concept of sustainibility?
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When I read the article “Soap… and other rural products”, I rushed to the bathroom closet to check the basket of soaps that my sister gave me as a gift from her trip to Jordan. Here it was the exact bag of soap bars in the article’s picture. Soap is an all-natural, authentic gift that truly reflects the spirit of Jordan, not some cosmopolitan mass-produced brand that you can find in every mall around the globe. And most importantly, an encouragement to fellow working women who are given the opportunity to stand up for themselves and contribute in their own way.