Souaneh Women Informal Group: from a small business to a successful bigger one!

Afraa Al Raii, Mariam Hamadeh, Diala Al Raii, Ibtissam Soultan, and Amal Hamadeh are members of the Souaneh Women Informal Group. They actively work together with 15 other women coming from the Souaneh village in the Nabatieh Governorate, to prepare mouneh[1] and other food processed items.

How did it all start?

Initially, these rural women followed the steps of traditional food-processing. However, using these types of techniques used to drain them physically and most of the time, cause financial imbalances as by producing small amounts, the market’s needs weren’t always met.

To improve their situation, they started participating in online and in person trainings within the framework of the Canada-funded project “Support to Women’s cooperatives and associations in the agri-food sector of Lebanon" implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Lebanon and in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the General Directorate of Cooperatives (GDC).

During these trainings that were delivered by FAO’s experts, the women were assisted in developing their capacities in business, marketing, communication, food safety and several other topics.

In addition, these trainings enabled them to develop their own very successful business plan, which was even selected for a grant, among others.

Hence, the Souaneh Women Informal Group’s successful journey started with the support of FAO!

Advanced equipment, higher productivity!

With the financial support provided by FAO, the Souaneh Women Informal Group procured the necessary equipment and supplies for the manufacturing unit they established helping them increase their production capacity and become more experienced in food processing.

When speaking to Ms. Afraa El Raii, she stated that “in the past, each woman worked individually at home. This demanded lots of efforts, and the result was not satisfactory in terms of quantity and quality which meant low-income generation.” She then continued saying that “thanks to FAO’s support, the 15 women now have a collective equipped facility to produce tomato sub-products with less efforts and higher productivity. We also learned the approach of management of our newly established business, and we now realize the importance of team work to empower the women of our community.”

The famous tomato sauce and sales growth.

In addition to a variety of already existing products such as thyme, pickles, jams, grains, pickled eggplant, and others, the women introduced a new product:  their own tomato sauce!

Customers prefer this purely homemade product over those industrial factory-made.  This not only tastes better, but most importantly it is free of chemicals such as preservatives and colorings.

Initially, the Souaneh Women Informal Group products were marketed and sold within their village and neighborhood. Today, with modern machinery and increased production, their marketing has begun to develop within new areas of Lebanon like Beirut, Tyr, and Sidon (or Saida).

“Even though it started as a home industry using traditional methods, the group was distinguished by adhering to the health conditions of manufacturing and meeting the consumer’s needs,” confirmed Dr. Hussein F. Hassan – PhD, Associate Professor of Food Science and Technology and Director of Academic Compliance, Provost's Office, Lebanese American University. He was assigned by FAO as Subject Matter Specialist providing his technical assistance in the field of agro-processing and food safety. He continued stating that with FAO’s support and experts’ guidance, the women were able to implement the essentials of food safety skills that were delivered during the trainings. Also, “they standardized the recipes to ensure consistent quality. As such, customer expectations were met,” confirmed Dr. Hassan.

Hence, FAO’s support did not only enhance the spirit of cooperation and teamwork among the women, but it also helped them develop their capacities and create new job opportunities in food processing related sectors. This also helped them generate more income and support their families’ livelihoods.

What’s next?

During the upcoming period, the women group is preparing to start a ketchup manufacturing unit, after receiving the necessary work tools with the support of FAO.

More about the project "Support to Women’s cooperatives and associations in the agri-food sector of Lebanon":

This project aims at empowering and improving the livelihoods of rural women in Lebanon through capacity development, grants, and cash for work.

Since its launch in 2019, the project was able to develop the capacities of more than 250 women groups (cooperatives, associations, and informal groups) by joining the Cooperative Business Schools (CBS) to gain skills on gender equality business, marketing, communication, among others. Coached and followed up by the trained project facilitators, they were able to develop sustainable business plans. A gender assessment of the agrifood sector was conducted and used to guide the women groups in identifying opportunities.

In parallel, the General Directorate of Cooperatives (GDC) is supported through the development of a Management Information System that will host all the sex disaggregated data of cooperatives for improved analysis, management, and coordination.