Twelve Arab Women Start A Business

It is not unusual for Arab women in Israel to work as farmers on land owned by other people.  As ‘farm hands’ they earn small salaries that are barely enough to feed their families.   For the most part they live in poverty without any control over their future.

When twelve Arab women living in a village called Macker, near Akko, were awarded micro loans their financial backers were surprised that the women decided to pool their loans to rent a field and grow zaatar, an herb that is commonly used in Israel and one, that Arabs believe, will make their children smart.

These women — each a wife and mother — had little trouble deciding to partner with each other and were in complete agreement on how to use the money. Motivated to go into business for themselves, and assisted by the Rural Women’s Development Project, they rented a field, bought supplies and plants, and returned to the land — as farmers, which is traditional for Arab women, and as owners of their own crop, which is not.

Each day these women ride a bumpy three-mile long road  to their field.. A lean-to, built of two-by-fours and a flimsy tarp, offers shady respite from the sun, and serves as their business office where they make important decisions. 

Currently, they sell half their crop as processed zaatar, or hyssop, which is used as a spice on pita and other foods. The other half is sold as mature plants. The women track the expenses and proceeds of each to determine the most lucrative way to market their crop.

Working together these women are using their skills to operate a profitable business.  With the help of the Rural Women’s Development Project they have become financially independent, are changing the lives of their families and becoming leaders in their community.