As Part of the Food Security Project in Palestine
In Jenin, CARE Builds 70 Greenhouses in Sanour and Al-Jdaydeh


Translated From Al-Ayyam Newspaper
Friday, 04 July 2008
Page 11

Jerusalem. For Al-Ayyam. As part of the emergency food security project in the Palestinian areas, implemented by CARE and funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid, 70 greenhouses were built in the villages of Sanour and Al-Jdaydeh in the Jenin Governorate, and work is underway to build 100 small greenhouses in seven communities in the Gaza Strip, namely in Deir Al-Balah, Wadi Al-Salqa, Al-Zawaydeh, Um Al-Nasr, Al-Malalha, Al-Shujaiyeh, and Al-Migraha. Each greenhouse is 72 square meters, and it will be equipped with an irrigation system, and a plastic container for one cubic meter of water.

Also, 120 dunums of greenhouses were rehabilitated. Those are owned by 120 farmers in four communities in the Gaza Strip, namely in Al-Shujaiyeh, Al-Zaitoun, Al-Zawyeh, and Deir Al-Balah. The activity included as well distributing plastic covers, protection fences, and irrigation networks.

In addition, 200 dunums were rehabilitated for 100 farmers in four communities in the Gaza Strip, in Al-Shoujaiyeh, Al-Zaitoun, Wadi Al-Salqa, and Deir Al-Balah; and irrigation networks, organic fertilizers, and shrubs, were distributed.

Rabbits and cages were distributed to 400 families in eight communities: Um Al-Nasr, Al-Shoujaiyeh, Al-Zaitoun, Al-Malalha, Al-Migraha, Wadi Al-Salqa, Al-Zawaydeh, and Deir Al-Balah.

In coordination with the Ministry of Social Welfare in the Jenin Governorate, the first shipment of white cheese, locally manufactured, was distributed to 182 families in three villages, namely in Al-Zawyeh, Al-Jdaideh, and Marqa. In all, white cheese will be distributed to 1,000 families who are registered in the social protection and social cases program in the Ministry of Social Welfare, and to families in nine communities in the Jenin and Toubas Governorates, namely in Jaba’, Al-Fandakoumiyeh, Sanour, Sirees, Al-Jdaideh, Marqa, Al-Zawyeh, Aqqaba, and Tayaseer.

The cheese distribution will improve the quality of the families’ food supply, and enable them to store the cheese for the periods when the supply becomes scarce and when there is no cheese in the market.

Approximately 15 tons of cheese will be distributed. It will be produced by 200 women in 12 women groups in the Jenin and Toubas Governorates. The women who are making the cheeses are either heads of households, or they are women who are supporting their families or of low income. Those are women that have experience in domestic production, especially in the field of producing white cheese. The women had attended training offered by CARE in food processing, as part of the food security project. In order to market their home-made produce, the women are relying on the bazaar of rural women in Jenin to help them market some of the cheese that will be distributed to the area families.

Three segments of the community will benefit from the food security activities. They are families of limited income, women who are producing the cheese, and farmers who are raising sheep.

The food security project is improving the quality of food intake, and creating a sustainable income to families in the area. The project is implemented in 18 communities in the West Bank and Gaza. Overall, approximately 2,400 families will benefit from this project. As part of the activities that have been implemented so far, sheep and the necessary tools and supplies were distributed to 130 families, in addition to beehives, tools and equipment to 160 families.