New website for marketing products of Lebanese rural women

The Arab empowering women association, the Blessing Foundation, managed by Rima Koteish Husseini, launched on March 6, its virtual site, shoptbfonline.com,  at the ESCWA headquarters in Beirut. Aimed at marketing goods made by rural women in Lebanon, the project highlights not only the products but also the women who produced them, according to Husseini. Each craft bears a story of a militant artisan, like Sana Ahmad, Syrian, who, forced to leave her war-torn country, is now making bags and selling them to provide for her six children, Husseini stated. Daad Ismael, a Lebanese woman, has another story to tell and sell. She makes jams and bread to secure the university fees for her daughters. Husseini pointed out that her foundation seeks to give those women access to markets to promote their merchandise across the world. The portal currently boaasts some 40 success stories. The prices of offered goods vary from a couple of US dollars for confections up to USD 200 for home supplies, like glass and silver made dishes and cups, noting that women producers put the prices, and add to it the 12% charge for e-commerce and for development and update of the e-store. Husseini is presently studying partnering with Amazon as a gateway to the world. Meanwhile, the foundation continues to network with involved civil society organizations to attract more women, hoping the number will reach 170 beneficiaries by the end of 2017. (Le Commerce Du Levant, April, 2017)