Facilitators and Women Cooperatives Hand in Hand to Achieve Women Empowerment

“Give someone a fish, you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” That’s the motto of the facilitators in the FAO transformative project aimed at developing the entrepreneurial skills and improving the livelihoods of rural women in Lebanon. The project is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and the General Directorate of Cooperatives, with generous funding from the Government of Canada.

Since its launch in 2019, the FAO project “Support to Women’s cooperatives and associations in the agrifood sector of Lebanon” developed the capacities of 255 women groups (cooperatives, associations, and informal groups) by encouraging them to enroll in Cooperative Business Schools (CBS) to equip them with knowledge and skills in business, marketing, communication. Project activities also raised awareness on gender equality and women’s rights.

Coached and followed up by trained project facilitators, women groups have been able to develop feasible and sustainable business plans, allowing them to receive cash grants that they used to initiate or expand their income-generating businesses.

Throughout project implementation, 25 facilitators (15 women and 10 men) supported the women groups in their journey. They established trustworthy relationships with the beneficiaries of the project, trained them on Farmers’ Business School approach and Cooperative Business Schools, and supported them in the preparation and elaboration of business plans. Facilitators were always present on the ground, following up on the installation and proper use of granted equipment, and highlighting the successes of the women groups. Facilitators also contributed to converting the women groups from the traditional and unfeasible production system to a business-oriented approach.

For Douaa Boudany, a woman facilitator in the FAO project, taking part in this process was incredibly rewarding. “I am happy to have witnessed the positive impact on local farmers and producers and communities,” she said, adding that this project gave her a purpose and inspired her to have a positive impact in sustainable development efforts.

The project wasn’t only an opportunity for women groups to learn new skills and develop existing ones.  It was also a chance for the facilitators, who are staff members at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Directorate General of Cooperative or in the private sector, to explore new ideas and build their capacities  on new concepts related to marketing, business management, and planning. Rima Mahanna, a woman facilitator, acquired new skills from training on communication and marketing. For her, meeting ambitious groups of women was the highlight of her journey in this project. Farida Shehadeh El Hajj expressed a similar feeling. She remembers the difficult yet rewarding experience of working, training, and meeting online during the COVID-19 pandemic. “But we surpassed all the obstacles and made an impact with the work we are doing,” she said proudly.

Being a facilitator in the FAO project was an added value for many of the facilitators like Mazen El Halawani. “I personally consider it a pivotal turning point in my professional and social life path because it gave me the trust of the local community and increased my will and determination to develop and empower my skills,” he said. 

“This project is exemplary,” said facilitator Charbel Nasser. “You take part in it with very little knowledge you have, and you graduate from it knowing a lot,” he said.

In this project, men and women in informal groups and cooperatives collaborated with one other, leading to additional marketing, sales, and entrepreneurship opportunities. This was only possible with the support and guidance of the FAO team and facilitators' hard work, sacrifice, and perseverance, which in turn relied on their strong belief in women's empowerment to improve local economies.

The facilitators will continue sharing the knowledge and skills they have acquired from this experience through their future work at the Ministry of Agriculture and the Directorate General of Cooperatives or through other projects implemented by different organizations. They will also join the community of agents of change in gender equality and women empowerment, having witnessed the many successful stories of women groups they supported and which have become role models. 

Names of all facilitators: Nasr Abbas, Ibrahim Deeb, Petra Akkoury, Amal Mikdad, Youssef El Sayyed, Salam Ibrahim, Ismaiil Amine, Ibrahim Nourriedine, Amal Bou Ayyach, Farida Shehadeh El Hajj, Mazen El Halawani, Nabil Serri Dine, Marwa Hammoud, Nour Katerji, Charbel Nasr, Mariam Hassan, Douaa Boudani, Bachar Choukeir, Sahar Nader, Rima Mahanna, Dina Mansour, Nagham Fakih, Walid Seifddine, Arwa Tleiss, Dounia Bou Chami.