Against the backdrop of Mount Hermon, the Hasbaya region of South Lebanon features ancient olive groves, terraced hillsides, and the winding Hasbani River.

Yet, beneath this scenic tranquility, rural communities face deep economic marginalization intensified by national financial instability and geographical isolation. In the lanes of Hasbaya’s historic souks, a new narrative is taking shape; not of crisis, but of enterprise.

Hounna Lil Tamkeen Project

Launched in late 2025 and scaling through 2026, the “Hounna Lil Tamkeen” project (Women for Empowerment) equips participants with the technical skills and business resources to establish their own guesthouses and craft enterprises.

The project is part of a broader movement; the United Development Program (UNDP) recently provided $1.5 million in assistance and technical support to women-led enterprises and cooperatives to restore local production and livelihoods across Lebanon.

The Leadership and Vision

Al Madad Foundation established the project as a core initiative under the vision of its founder, Lebanese-British artist and humanitarian Aya Haidar. Haidar’s work frequently explores themes of cultural heritage and the value of women’s domestic labor, actively shifting the focus from traditional aid toward a model of “creative empowerment.” The leadership’s philosophy for Hounna Lil Tamkeen pushes business ownership rather than one-time food parcels. It also professionalizes the production of mouneh (traditional preserves), ensuring that Lebanese heritage becomes a marketable asset in the modern economy. The project acts as a direct intervention against the rising poverty rates in rural Lebanon, where one out of every three citizens now lives below the poverty line. It provides a sustainable path toward women’s economic empowerment in Hasbaya in this traditionally conservative region.

How it Works: From Training to Table

Instead of requiring women to travel to urban hubs for work, the initiative brings the professional economy directly to their doorsteps through three distinct phases:

• Phase 1: Professional Skill Acquisition: Participants receive intensive hospitality training from the foundation, mastering international service standards, rigorous food safety protocols, and foundational digital literacy. This specialized instruction enables them to list their traditional homes on global booking platforms, effectively turning underutilized domestic spaces into reliable revenue streams. This localized approach tackles the regional inequality affecting 44% of the population while prioritizing women’s economic empowerment in Hasbaya as a core engine for rural recovery.
• Phase 2: The Culinary Tourism Pipeline: Women are trained to scale and professionalize their traditional production of mouneh (artisanal Lebanese preserves). By standardizing product quality, safety and packaging, the project helps these local entrepreneurs sell their goods directly to visiting tourists and high-end urban markets. This provides a vital, insulated source of income at a time when the tourism sector’s contribution to Lebanon’s economy fluctuates around 5.5%.
• Phase 3: Digital Visibility and Infrastructure: The initiative provides the physical tools and marketing training necessary for women to establish an online presence. Creating a digital footprint is essential for bypassing Lebanon’s ongoing banking hurdles, offering a critical intervention in a country where female labor force participation stands at just 27.54%; significantly lower than the global average of 51.07%.

From Blueprint to Reality

The tangible reality of this economic shift is documented directly by the field updates of the “Hounna Lil Tamkeen” initiative on social media. Supported by the Mediterranean Women’s Fund and guided by expert trainer Omar Abou Ali, the project successfully executed its specialized “Treasures of Hermon: Feminine Tourism” training modules across rural South Lebanon. After conducting successful training blocks in the towns of Kfayr and Mimes, the foundational phase concluded with an intensive two-day workshop in the village of Khalwat. The field execution seamlessly bridged hospitality with the region’s culinary heritage, featuring a traditional rural lunch that served as a practical showcase for professionalized, homemade preserve production (mouneh). Moving forward, these real-world assessments are being translated directly into localized tourism brochures for each village, creating a permanent marketing infrastructure that connects rural women directly to the modern travel economy.

Looking Ahead

The success of these rural initiatives mirrors a broader national effort to revitalize Lebanon’s economy through women’s economic empowerment in Hasbaya. International partners have mobilized substantial support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which comprise 90% of Lebanon’s economy and serve as the backbone of local livelihoods. Under the Women’s Economic Empowerment Project, a total of $1.106 million in grants has reached 96 SMEs, providing both financial capital and United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) technical support to strengthen operations and expand market reach. Ultimately, the project aims to support more than 1,000 women-led businesses, ensuring that as Lebanon navigates its recovery, women remain at the heart of a more equitable and sustainable economic future.

– Celine Dib

Celine is based in London and focuses on Good News, Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr