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ISRAEL-OPT: Sustainable income projects threatened by bad weather, access restrictions
Photo: Shabtai Gold/IRIN  | | Ahmed and Manar Khalouf's flock being tended to by their eldest son |
JENIN, 28 February 2008 (IRIN) - Ahmed and Manar Khalouf, a husband and wife from Burqeen village near Jenin in the northern West Bank, say they always aimed to be self-sufficient and financially secure. After years of troubles, they are finally on the right path, though face some challenges.
Ahmed was unemployed for several years following the outbreak of the `intifada’ (Palestinian uprising) in September 2000, as he could no longer enter Israel for work, and the family of eight went through hard times. However, in late 2003 they received three sheep from CARE International, which they have since managed to turn into a flock of 20.
Manar, who prior to receiving the livestock was a homemaker, explained that a large part of their income comes from selling milk products from the sheep.
"I make yoghurt and cheese and then sell it. At first, I gave samples to the neighbours and they said they wanted more. So that's how the business got started," she told IRIN.
She now plans to expand by making carpets from the sheep’s wool. This, like her desire to sell the dairy goods outside her local area, would require an easing on the Israeli-imposed restrictions on movement in order to maximise profits.
Furthermore, they have begun to sell some sheep in order to buy expensive fodder for the remaining livestock. There has been a lack of rainfall in the normally relatively verdant district. This has limited grazing to only three months a year.
"The fodder is our biggest worry," said Ahmed, who used to work as a stone mason in Israel.
Unemployment, greenhouses, goats
Other people who managed to turn their lives around thanks to development projects are in similar situations this winter.
In the nearby village of Aqaba, widespread unemployment is in evidence. Workers gather in front of the municipality, waiting for handouts from aid organisations, while others hope to land a day job.
Photo: Shabtai Gold/IRIN  |
| Ahmed Sameh and his wife Sahhar, who tends to the tomatoes, inside their greenhouse | Nearly all of them used to work in Israel or owned shops which provided services to Israelis who no longer venture into these Palestinian areas.
Ahmed Sameh is better off than most now, as he was given a greenhouse and training by the CARE programme, which aims to provide sustainable incomes. However, he lost 30 percent of his tomatoes in a recent frost and he is worried he will make no profit in the months to come.
But the income he generated in the six months prior to the cold snap allowed him to buy three goats.
"I use them to provide my children with milk," said the father of six, noting that in the past this was a luxury. He worries that he will have to sell them in order to have cash to replant next season.
Movement restrictions affect business
Many people who fell back on agriculture as they lost work in Israel are adversely affected by the restrictions on movement. The delays at checkpoints mean retailers in major cities cannot rely on a steady supply of goods from Jenin and the farmers lose money as the product quality deteriorates due to long waits.
"The restrictions on movement affect the timing and the quality of the products," explained Erminio Sacco, the chief technical adviser for food security at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"The bulk of production in Jenin is mainly perishable products, and the profitability of the product depends on the quality when it reaches the retailer," he told IRIN.
Beekeeping blues
For Muhammed Abu Amireh, a beekeeper in Arabeh village, things seem to be falling apart.
His family originated in Haifa, in what is now Israel, but became refugees following the war of 1948. For many years he worked as a day labourer inside Israel, earning a modest income. When his permit was revoked, he entered into a vicious circle of poverty as his debts piled up.
His difficult situation made him eligible for a donation from the European Commission and three years ago he received five beehives, which, with training, he turned into 15. He began to build a successful honey business, and became an example, in the eyes of some aid workers, of why development work can be preferable to handouts.
In January, however, eight of the hives were wiped out in the frost, and his remaining bees, he said, were too weak to produce honey, leaving him, again, without a clear source of income in the foreseeable future.
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