Baysariyeh women to set up a new cooperative for rural products

A number of women from the southern town of Baysariyeh are currently attending intensive training sessions on the principles of food safety and quality organized by Atayeb al Reef cooperative association. The training program is implemented by UNDP jointly with the ministry of social affairs and the municipality of Baysariyeh with the aim to create a cooperative specialized in the production of traditional rural goods. This activity comes as part of the Lebanon Host Communities Support Project funded by the British Agency for International Development in order to empower women economically and help them become productive through enhancing their marketing and sales capacities. In this respect, Fatmeh Khalil, project coordinator in the south underlined the importance of the training workshops in terms of helping local women to provide for their families and partake in decision making. Inside a room made available by the municipality, women are now busy preparing all kinds of sauces, jams, aubergine pickles and labneh, and will later expand to a new line of pastries and traditional cuisine. Upon the registration of the new cooperative, products will be marketed locally while baring the trademark of the cooperative . (The Daily Star, August 22, 2016)