Broccoli lifts Palestinian women out of poverty

Two women in Gaza have taken to agriculture to harvest broccoli for sale in the local market in an effort to overcome the besieged enclave's rising poverty levels

by Mohammed Asad

Two women in Gaza have taken to agriculture to harvest broccoli for sale in the local market in an effort to overcome the besieged enclave’s rising poverty levels [Mohmmad Asad/Middle East Monitor]

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Mother of two Fatime Barakeh who is 24-years-old and mother of five Bisan Qadieh who is 32 work six hours a day to reap the fruits of their labour.

The women see this as an effort to support their families, including their husbands, who have all struggled as a result of the high unemployment levels in the Strip.

The university graduates from Khan Yunis consulted a number of farmers in their area before choosing to plant broccoli as it is a rare vegetable in Gaza. The pair purchased seedlings from a nursery in Gaza City and set off on the arduous task of planting a dunum of land (0.001 square kilometres) with the crop.

Now their harvest has succeeded, they hope to plant the remaining land they have with broccoli and improve their income and their families’ quality of life.

Two women in Gaza have taken to agriculture to harvest broccoli for sale in the local market in an effort to overcome the besieged enclave’s rising poverty levels [Mohmmad Asad/Middle East Monitor]

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