Skip to main content
IIE - The Power of International Education
  • Scholarships & Programs
  • Services
    • Scholarships and Fellowships
    • Training and Capacity Building
    • Higher Education Internationalization
    • Global Outreach and Recruitment
    • Study Tours and Delegations
    • Evaluations and Impact Studies
    • Research Services
    • Leadership Development (US Exchange)
    • English Language Proficiency (TOEFL)
    • IIE’s Sponsors & Partners
  • Research
  • Crisis Response
  • Get Involved
    • Ways to Give
    • Partner with IIE
    • Become a Member
    • Publications
    • Experts
    • Join Our Team
    • Procurement
    • Study Abroad Resources
    • Events & Webinars
Donate
  • About Us
  • ​Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Careers
IIE Centennial Fellowship
  • Current Fellows
    • Centennial Fellowship Alumni
  • FAQs
  • About
  • Apply
  • Centennial Fellows Blogs
    • 2019–20 Blog
      • Beat COVID Together
      • New Year: We Have 2020 Vision!
      • New Year: Tackling Literacy in Indonesia from 9,000 Miles Away
      • Puentes in the Time of COVID
      • Service Focused Education Inspired Project Buku Buku
      • The Books that Kept Us Dreaming
      • Words into Actions
      • Repairing and Recycling of Digital Electronics during COVID-19
      • Mutual Understanding: Listening to the Consumers
      • Takataka Impacts
      • Virtual Transition for Project Buku Buku
      • New Year: Electronic Waste Market in Dhaka, Bangladesh
      • Insights from the Field: Cultural Sensitivity & Adapting to COVID-19
      • Responsible Computing: What I Learned While Working at the Electronic Waste Markets in Bangladesh
      • New Year: 2020 Vision of Hope
    • 2020–21 Blog
      • New Year: Closing the Opportunity Gap between BIPOC-led startups and Venture Capital Funding
      • New Year: On the Hunt for Coronavirus Hosts
      • RHINO, the Magic of Community Health Clubs, and a Community Radio Program
      • Working in Your Business While You Work on Your Business: A Conversation with Tamika Hinton
      • Resilience or Immunity: Social Class and The Paradox of COVID-19 in Haiti
      • New Year: New Hope for Increasing Public Health Resilience in Haiti
    • 2021-22 Blog
      • Feeding Development, Transnational Education & Family Legacies
      • Designing and Implementing a Harm Reduction Program for People Who Inject Drugs in Kigali, Rwanda
      • Facilitating Successful Reentry: EPI Reentry and College Outside Program (RECOUP) Staff Perspective
      • Transnational Black Women’s Solidarity as New Bones for Development Practice
      • Reentry Support for College Students Leaving Prison: The Emerson Prison Initiative’s Reentry and College Outside Program
      • The Necessity of Providing Care to People who Inject Drugs in Rwanda
      • Towards Sustainable Farming in Rural Areas of the West Bank
      • Advocating For Respectful Maternity Care in Niger
      • Educational Access in Prison and Afterwards: The Emerson Prison Initiative Story
      • A Transnational Black Feminist Food Sovereignty Project
      • Empowering Marginalized Communities Through Sustainable Farming in Rural Areas of the West Bank
      • Addressing the Health and Social Challenges of People Who Inject Drugs in Rwanda is a Public Health and Moral Imperative
      • Lessons I Learned from My IIE Centennial Fellowship
      • An Upgraded Molino, Increased Water Access, and Transnational Institution-Building
      • From Incarcerated Person to College Graduate: The Emerson Prison Initiative’s First Graduation
      • From Air Pollution to Sustainable Farming
      • My Childhood and Fulbright Experiences Allowed Me to Be the Researcher I Am Today
    • 2022-23 Blog
      • The IIE Centennial Fellow from Tajikistan
      • Bridging-Center for Higher Education for Internally Displaced Youths in Kaduna State
      • Higher Education Interrupted by War: Ensuring Continuation for Ukrainian Students
      • Forgotten People
  • Eligibility
  • Contact

Empowering Marginalized Communities Through Sustainable Farming in Rural Areas of the West Bank

By Abdelhaleem Khader, 2021-2022 IIE Rodman A. Rockefeller Centennial Fellow

The main idea of the project is to promote sustainable farming in marginalized communities in rural areas of Palestine. Traditionally, small farming in rural areas of Palestine is practiced mainly by women, which helps empower them to support their families. In this project I will continue this tradition by focusing on female farmers in the training courses. According the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics’ latest census data (2017), women comprise 49.1% of the population. But unfortunately, the unemployment rate among women in the West Bank is more than 22% (40% if we include Gaza Strip), compared to 11.7 % unemployment rate among men (24% if we include Gaza Strip). The training will be on sustainable farming practices and will be customized to fit small farms typically owned by families in rural areas in Palestine.

The second group that I am targeting in this project are young agronomists and agricultural engineers. Although the agricultural sector is supposed to be the major economic sector in Palestine, the unemployment rate among graduates with a degree in agronomy is more than 33%. As a result, young people from marginalized farming communities tend to migrate to the larger cities due to the lack of job opportunities available closer to home. In this project we will train these young agricultural engineers on sustainable farming practices with a focus on green entrepreneurship. This will likely help in improving the economy in these communities and create jobs.

Photo collage of young Palestinian farmers
Young Palestinian Farmers (Source)

Sustainable farming will help small farmers and agronomists to gain financial independence by producing high quality and healthy farming products in high demand in the local market. Being particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with severe implications for its economy, living standards, and environment, Palestine should implement adaptation measures to cope with these impacts. The agricultural sector is among the main areas that should implement these measures. Current farming practices cause degradation of soil by misusing fertilizers, declining fertility, erosion, increasing salt contents, and depleting most of the freshwater resources. Sustainable farming will help in preserving precious water resources, restoring degraded soil, and maintaining biodiversity. In Palestine, there is a good potential for successful sustainable farming. The four main natural inputs (water, energy, nutrients, and skilled workers) are available here. Rainwater harvesting techniques, abundance of potential solar energy, compost made from organic and agricultural waste, and a strong agricultural heritage can ensure a prosperous sustainable agricultural sector.

For more details about the project and its objectives, please read my first blog.

IIE - The Power of International Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • facebook
  • linkedin
  • youtube

Help share knowledge and create a better future by supporting IIE.

Donate

© 2023 Institute of International Education, Inc. All rights reserved. INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION, IIE and OPENING MINDS TO THE WORLD are trademarks or registered trademarks of Institute of International Education, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

  • Terms and Conditions
  • IIE Pay
  • DEIA at IIE
  • Participant Tax Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Preferences