Consume Palestina
Consume Palestine: The best practice of the RUWOMED Project
Context
The Consume Palestine strategy proves to be a good Social and Solidarity Economy practice when it comes to providing an integrated (drawing from public and private support and resources) and comprehensive (intervening on both supply and demand side) support to boost rural value chains, acting through the social and economic empowerment of vulnerable social groups (targeted vulnerable women, in this case).
The strategy traces its origins from the learnings of the ENPI CBC MED RUWOMED project (RUWOMED) implemented by Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz (ACPP), Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC -now Palestinian Development Association), and Collective for Research and Training on Development - Action (CRTD-A) in Spain, Palestine, and Lebanon, from November 2012 to December 2016. The project aimed at developing and strengthening viable and sustainable economic activities among Palestinian and Lebanese women in rural areas through capacity building programs, input support and the local and international promotion of their products.
The project "Sustainable, Equal and Fair. Consume Local, Consume Palestine" is the result of the joint reflection between partner Agricultural Development Association (PARC) and Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz (ACPP) that started in 2017. As a result of the joint experience between both organisations in the RUWOMED project, the activities of cooperatives and women's associations with a productive and economic character are very important in the organisation of rural populations in order to share risks, sources of resources and obtain credit, especially for women.
For this reason, ACPP and PARC have been working since 2017 on the project "Sustainable, egalitarian and fair. Consume Local, Consume Palestine" during three different phases, with the support of the decentralised cooperation of the Generalitat Valenciana.
Objectives
The working strategy that has materialised in this project is a consequence of the experience gained and the good results generated with the project RUWOMED. This was the beginning or the tangible materialisation of the joint strategy for rural development and gender of ACPP and PARC, as this project gave us the opportunity to carry out various large-scale actions where the lessons learned have been immense and have served to promote a whole strategic axis of action. The objectives of this campaign are:
- Socio-economic empowerment of Palestinian women as decision-makers
- Strengthening the value chain of Palestinian products with criteria of sustainability and responsible consumption
- Promote cooperatives as viable and sustainable socio-economic models, with the aim of contributing to the social transformation of the social, economic, rights and cultural context of Palestinian women.