Livestock Cooperative Association

The Al-Shyoukh Cooperative Association for Livestock and Productive Development has established a pioneering success story in economically and socially empowering women, enabling them to become active contributors to their families’ economic situation alongside men. This is achieved through its productive activities and focus on plant and animal food processing, including maftoul, maamoul, pastries, dairy products, cheese, pickles, makdous, grape products, embroidery, and handmade decorative crafts. The association also focuses on developing the capacities of its female members through educational, health, and vocational training courses to enable them to become active members of society.

The founder and president of the association, Yusra Oweidat, aspires to establish a large specialized factory for traditional food products, build a main headquarters for the association, and acquire a vehicle to facilitate the marketing of its products. She also aims to establish a popular local market on a piece of land that serves the local community every Friday and Saturday, providing an opportunity for all women in the town to display and market their various products.

During a journalistic tour organized by the Association of Women’s Committees for Social Work for a number of women’s cooperative associations as part of the 17-day campaign for rural women’s empowerment, within the project "Promoting a Gender-Responsive Environment in Rural Development and the Cooperative Sector," in partnership with the Swedish organization WeEffect and supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), it was highlighted that the association was established in 2001 as a pioneering initiative by Oweidat. This was based on her belief in the importance of women’s role in economic empowerment, family development, and community growth through productive initiatives and economically viable projects.

Developing the Idea and Establishing the Association

Driven by her passion for collective cooperative work since childhood, Oweidat had previously established the Women’s Clubs Association and the Savings and Credit Association. Later, her idea developed to target marginalized women and unemployed young women. The association was created despite the social challenges she faced, by convincing the local community in Al-Shyoukh town of the importance of women’s role and their contribution to production, economic activity, and supporting families in improving their living standards through productive cooperatives and a safe working environment.

Oweidat confirms that the association was founded with four female members and quickly expanded to include 15 women, and later its general assembly reached 52 women. Every two years, a new administrative board is elected. Together, they work to improve their families’ living standards, and by increasing income levels, they have contributed to the economic empowerment of their households, helping to combat unemployment and reduce poverty.

She stated: "The importance of cooperatives comes from the benefits they provide to members and beneficiaries, and their efforts to extend these benefits to the largest possible number of targeted people through providing supported supplies and needs at competitive prices, while addressing the challenges and issues faced by association members as a unified cooperative force. We also pay great attention to qualifying and training other members in leadership and entrepreneurship and transferring leadership experience to them."

Between Rejection and Acceptance

Oweidat explains that the association’s idea was initially centered around producing traditional food products. She says: "Although not everyone accepted the idea at first, we succeeded in attracting those who opposed it after they witnessed the cooperative’s productivity and the participating women receiving monthly financial returns from their production. The situation then changed for the better through support, encouragement, and cooperation, which helped us expand membership opportunities, increase available job opportunities, and diversify our production lines to meet the needs of the local community, especially during different occasions."

Gradual Production Development and Market Expansion

Oweidat said: "Through self-financing and the contributions of the association members, we now have complete production lines for maftoul, maamoul, pickles, traditional taboon bread, embroidery products, dairy products, and milk derivatives. We have also established a sheep farm for the association, where we raise sheep as part of our plant and animal food production activities. By targeting young women through professional, educational, and health training courses, we have also started caring for children with disabilities of the association members by providing assistance through Doctors Without Borders, who provided guidance and instructions on how to deal with their children, which had a positive impact on everyone. In addition, we organize recreational trips for children, which contributed to increasing acceptance of the association among all residents of the town."

She added: "We gradually developed the project and began expanding the marketing of our products, moving from local markets to neighboring markets by contracting with 18 commercial stores in several governorates. This was achieved through partnerships with supporting institutions, which helped rehabilitate the professional capacities and skills of the association members through various training and qualification courses. This made it easier for participating young women and increased their effectiveness in social, economic, and financial impact on their families."

Participation in Exhibitions

Oweidat emphasizes the importance of exhibitions in marketing the association’s products. She said: "We participate in exhibitions due to their great importance in networking with institutions, companies, and the local community. Through this, we have produced large quantities and achieved wider recognition. We also help many women market their homemade products. The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) has provided the association with opportunities to participate with other associations through exchange and marketing ideas in exhibitions."

Oweidat confirms that the return for women working in the association is evident through improving their living standards, their household possessions, and their ability to support their husbands and children in improving family living conditions and university education.

Oweidat confirmed that the association has achieved a success story after expanding and becoming widely recognized inside and outside Al-Shyoukh town. It is characterized by diverse production capacity that meets various community needs and requirements. However, it still faces challenges in delivering its products due to the lack of a dedicated vehicle.

Official Licensing and the "Qout Beitouna" Brand

The association was officially licensed by the Ministry of Economy after two years of operation and production. Its products were registered under the trademark "Qout Beitouna." The association hopes to receive logistical or financial support and increase awareness of its brand in order to expand its production and marketing activities, with the support and assistance of the Bisan Center for Research and Development.

Social Responsibility

Oweidat says: "At the end of each year, the association allocates 5% of its budget and revenues to support patients and disadvantaged families, especially by contributing to university education for their children. Through this, marginalized women have become active participants in institutional and community activities, take part in elections, assume responsibilities in municipalities, and have developed leadership abilities in various fields and areas."

Self-Support Without Direct Economic Empowerment

Dr. Aql Abu Qar’a, Programs Director at the Association of Women’s Committees for Social Work, states: "The association is based on the philosophy of capacity building, developing strategies, and self-support without direct economic empowerment through direct project funding. Within this project, we work with five active grassroots partners, including the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ), and cooperatives. We train these institutions by building the capacities of their human resources through gender-responsive approaches, advocacy, and awareness campaigns. These institutions, in turn, train grassroots cooperative organizations such as Al-Shyoukh and Battir associations, with training provided by the Union of Agricultural Work Committees."

He confirms that the main objective of the project is to achieve a form of equality and justice for rural women, with a particular focus on cooperatives. The project aims to achieve four main outcomes, including promoting gender equality by ensuring that women and men are treated equally in terms of needs, access to resources, and available opportunities.