On the 21st of October, and one week after the International Rural Women day, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Lebanon (FAO) organized the graduation of more than 900 trainees from women groups and 32 facilitators in the “Cooperative Business Schools” programme, under the framework of the project “Support to women’s cooperatives and associations in the agri-food sector of Lebanon”, funded by the Government of Canada.

The event was attended by Eng. Gloria Abu Zeid, Director of the General Directorate of Cooperatives (representing H.E Minister of Agriculture), HE Ms. Chantal Chastenay, Ambassador of Canada to Lebanon, Mr. Etienne Careme, acting FAO Representative in Lebanon, in addition to women groups participating online from all over Lebanon.

This event aims at recognizing the tremendous efforts done by the women groups, beneficiaries of the project, who were enrolled in the Cooperative Business Schools and actively participated in the training packages provided by the project. It also aims at certifying the project men and women facilitators whose roles were instrumental in acquiring the knowledge and disseminating it to the women groups while coaching and following up with them along the project activities.

Eng. Gloria Abu Zeid on behalf of H.E Minister of Agriculture said: “women are the cornerstone of the countryside, the basis of local development, and they are the invisible presence in agricultural activities in their diversity. By developing the capacities of rural women and empowering them economically, sustainable development is achieved and hunger and poverty are reduced”.

The Ambassador of Canada to Lebanon, HE Ms. Chantal Chastenay, stressed the importance of this project in building the capacities of women and strengthening their economic role in food and agriculture sectors to face the obstacles and challenges Lebanon is going through.

From his side, the acting FAO Representative in Lebanon, Mr. Etienne Careme said: “the project could not be instrumental in coaching and following up with all the women groups especially in the difficult times without the dedication of the project   women and men facilitators whose graduation as CBS facilitators is also celebrated today”.

Project Brief

Funded by the Government of Canada, this project is implemented with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Directorate General of Cooperatives and it aims at empowering and improving the livelihoods of rural women in Lebanon through capacity building, grants and cash for work.

Since its launch in 2019, the project was able to build the capacity of 255 women groups (cooperatives, associations and informal groups) by enrolling them in Cooperative Business Schools (CBS) over 22 sessions. Coached and followed up by the trained project facilitators, they were able to develop business plans in a feasible and sustainable way.

The CBS curriculum is composed of the following modules: Concept of Cooperative Business School (CBS), Introduction to CBS, Business Idea and Situational Analysis, Market Analysis, Operational Planning, Financial Planning, Financial Statements, Risk Management, Environmental and Social Responsibility and Performance Monitoring.

In collaboration with Fair Trade Lebanon all participating women groups were provided with a wide range of complementary relevant trainings such as: Sustainable business basics, Action Plan and Performance Analysis, Crisis Management, Sustainable Value chains, Gender Sensitive Value Chains, Marketing, My Coop, Communication and ICT, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Gender in Agriculture, and Ethics.

In collaboration with the Directorate General of Cooperatives, all the participating women groups were trained on the Lebanese Legislation of Cooperatives as well on nutrition and how to consider the nutrition aspects in their Business Plans.

In collaboration with International Alert, the participating women groups together with their family and community members were provided with an awareness campaign on gender equality addressing the following main topics:

1. Socially prescribed gender roles to women and men (men supporting in household chores, women participating in economic life).
2. Promoting a conducive environment for women participating in economic activities and family decision-making.
3. Prevention and awareness programs and activities for men on anger and stress management