Success stories in rural areas of Syria

Many remarkable projects and noteworthy accomplishments by Syrian rural women have been made possible thanks to the Village Business Incubator implemented with the support of the European Union in Lattakia governorate. A glance on Success stories in 9 villages.

Samar Ezmashli - Damascus, Al-Hayat

They are a group of rural women assembled behind a small stand in Salah El-Din castle located in the beautiful coastal mountain of Syria, to sell many hand-made products such as dairy products, women accessories, traditional appliances, natural soap, medical herbs, natural silk fabrics, honey, etc.

Most rural women in charge of small-scale development projects are looking forward to take part in exhibitions held in Syrian cities, particularly in Tadmur, Afamia, Damascus, Aleppo, Lattakia. Such opportunities allow them to conclude business agreements with hotels and restaurants and sell their high quality products at competitive prices. Just like the successful deal they have concluded with Four Seasons Hotel, says Amina Mohammed, one of the “Ward Gan” project participants, which consisted of providing traditional furniture with Ugarit language letters and other hand painted patterns.

Amina is one of four rural women from the village of Basta in Lattakia governorate who are brilliant in embroidery and sewing. They started to implement the “Ward Gan” project (borrowing the name of an ancient queen) after their business plan was accepted by the Village Business Incubator. The VBI is established by the Fund for Integrated Rural Development of Syria (FIRDOS), headed by first lady Asma Assad, with the technical assistance of the Italian Association for Women in Development (AIDOS) and the financial aid of the European Union. The objective of the VBI is to serve 8 villages, by promoting women’s active role in the labor market through the creation of small and micro scale viable and self sustainable enterprises.

The VIB provided a training session to Amina and her colleagues under the supervision of a French trainer, before they started the implementation of their project. Thanks to this initiative, Amina is now able to help her husband, a policeman, and to contribute to provide for her family and restore their old house. She also hopes they will succeed in developing and widening the scope of their business, especially that their products were displayed and sold in Italy. These women are currently negotiating a deal with a sales center based in Damascus that would be in charge of helping them make a successful entry into national and international markets.

The VIB launched its activities in 2005 by organizing an awareness campaign in the targeted villages. More than 200 women participated in an entrepreneurial orientation session that helped them prepare their business plan. 65 Small and Medium projects benefited from technical and financial assistance. 400 counseling services sessions and 70 market studies were conducted for different products presented by rural women. And more than 30 exhibitions were organized by local and international institutions.

Based on the successful results achieved during the first phase of the project, the VBI was extended for a second phase that started last year. Four new villages are entitled to get the VBI services along with the villages targeted in the first phase. Total number of benefiting villages is 13.

Project coordinator Shawq Abdel Aziz points out that the second phase, which was launched in April 2009 for three years, is based on sustainable development principles, through the creation of small and micro scale viable and self sustainable value-added enterprises. The objective is to rely on the pilot experience of the Village Business Incubator and to establish a model for developing micro and small-enterprises that can be extended to the other rural areas of Syria.

In the framework of the support provided to rural women entrepreneurs, the project includes also an annual Christmas Bazaar as an opportunity for visibility and marketing of women's quality products. The VBI adopts an integrated approach to enterprise development. It provides a flexible package of business development services including: enterprise management and technical training, business planning and counseling, product development and design, marketing and promotion. The VIB services include as well literacy training sessions for rural women, communication skills, and reproductive health and first aid courses, with the help of foreign experts in different fields. Not to mention individual assistance to women for the preparation of their business plan, marketing, business development, or training of trainers.

Refer to the project fact sheet: Village Business Incubator (VBI) (Syria)