REFİF İSLİM

Gaza- A team consists of four women earn a livelihood from producing cosmetics and beauty products from local herbs in Gaza, where land, air, and sea blockade has been imposed. They have sold these products in 50 stores, including 30 pharmacies in Gaza. The women’s project is internationally funded. The women use steam distillation to draw out the ingredients from plants including rosemary, basil, mint, thyme, and chamomile.

“You feel like you are taking something from the earth”

“When you hold the product, you feel like you are taking something from the earth,” said Refqa Al Hamalawi, one of the women who order the herbs from farms run by women.

They already create 17 products

The women have already created 17 products, including cleansers and body wash. “As women, we're proud of the idea and the production,” Refqa Al-Hamalawi told us.

The unemployment rate is around 50% in Gaza

The project, aimed at empowering women and boosting the economy, is supported by Australia and the global charity Oxfam. The women say the project has already begun to have an impact in Gaza, where the unemployment rate is around 50%. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the female unemployment rate is 62% in Gaza.