ARCHAEOLOGY TO BUSINESS IN FAYNAN: EMPOWERING AND ALLEVIATING THE POVERTY OF BEDOUIN WOMEN IN SOUTHERN JORDAN
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Reading
Department Name: Archaeology
Abstract
The 'Archaeology to Business in Faynan' (ABIF) project will draw on the outcomes of AHRC funded research to support poverty alleviation and gender equality in the Bedouin community of Faynan/Greigra, southern Jordan. This area has a high level of economic deprivation, which is especially felt amongst the Bedouin women. The recent development of irrigation agriculture to grow tomatoes and melons is only benefiting a restricted number of families, this partly arising from the community being divided into five tribes with different levels of access to agricultural employment. Tourism is increasingly popular to Faynan, this being supported by a single hotel that caters for affluent westerners and is run by a company from Amman. While this hotel has brings income into Faynan, via employment and its supply chains, the majority of Bedouin, and especially the women, have been unable to benefit. As with agriculture, the distribution of benefits is inhibited by the tribal structure within Faynan. The recent development of the Faynan Museum, supported by AHRC funding awards, has attracted further tourists by promoting the archaeological sites and monuments in Faynan, to be further enhanced by a Faynan Heritage Walking Trail. During the course of this development, Bedouin Women have approached the PI and his colleagues to express their desire to produce handicrafts to sell to the tourists.
The handicraft market in Jordan is substantial, but is increasingly flooded with cheap imports from China and India. Tourists, and especially the affluent tourists coming to Faynan, are looking for highly-distinctive and high-quality products, relating to the specific localities they have visited. Despite the presence of base-line handicraft skills, the Faynan women cannot at present, produce, market, and sell such products. As such, the ABIF project will support the development of a new range of handicrafts, combining traditional Bedouin skills in weaving and other techniques with designs inspired from the ancient art of Faynan to make locally distinctive products.
That ancient art was discovered during the AHRC funded excavations at the Neolithic site of WF16 in Faynan. Excavations were undertaken between 2008 and 2010, producing a wealth of new information about this critical period of economic change in the southern Levant, one which saw the transition from mobile hunting & gathering to sedentary farming communities, 11,800-10,200 years ago. A key discovery at WF16 was a collection of engraved objects that provides the oldest collection of art objects from Jordan. These primarily have geometric patterns engraved onto stone and bone, with some human and animal depictions. This art can be readily translated into the design of new handicraft products, creating a unique line of products for Faynan.
The ABIF project will involve collaboration between University-based archaeologists from Reading, UK, who excavated WF16, 'Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities (FPEC)', a Jordanian-based NGO committed to international development, and the Jordan-based Council for British Research in the Levant, that has expertise about traditional Bedouin culture and handicrafts. FPEC has extensive experience and an excellent track record in supporting local communities to develop their own sustainable business enterprises to alleviate poverty. These three bodies will work together with women from all five Bedouin tribes in Faynan to develop the 'Women's Cooperative of Faynan and Gregira'. This will produce, market and sell high-quality handicrafts inspired by the art from WF16. Training programs in handicraft design and production, and in a range of business skills including marketing, pricing and customer relations, will be delivered with a view to the development of a financially self-sustaining business at the completing of the funding period.
The handicraft market in Jordan is substantial, but is increasingly flooded with cheap imports from China and India. Tourists, and especially the affluent tourists coming to Faynan, are looking for highly-distinctive and high-quality products, relating to the specific localities they have visited. Despite the presence of base-line handicraft skills, the Faynan women cannot at present, produce, market, and sell such products. As such, the ABIF project will support the development of a new range of handicrafts, combining traditional Bedouin skills in weaving and other techniques with designs inspired from the ancient art of Faynan to make locally distinctive products.
That ancient art was discovered during the AHRC funded excavations at the Neolithic site of WF16 in Faynan. Excavations were undertaken between 2008 and 2010, producing a wealth of new information about this critical period of economic change in the southern Levant, one which saw the transition from mobile hunting & gathering to sedentary farming communities, 11,800-10,200 years ago. A key discovery at WF16 was a collection of engraved objects that provides the oldest collection of art objects from Jordan. These primarily have geometric patterns engraved onto stone and bone, with some human and animal depictions. This art can be readily translated into the design of new handicraft products, creating a unique line of products for Faynan.
The ABIF project will involve collaboration between University-based archaeologists from Reading, UK, who excavated WF16, 'Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities (FPEC)', a Jordanian-based NGO committed to international development, and the Jordan-based Council for British Research in the Levant, that has expertise about traditional Bedouin culture and handicrafts. FPEC has extensive experience and an excellent track record in supporting local communities to develop their own sustainable business enterprises to alleviate poverty. These three bodies will work together with women from all five Bedouin tribes in Faynan to develop the 'Women's Cooperative of Faynan and Gregira'. This will produce, market and sell high-quality handicrafts inspired by the art from WF16. Training programs in handicraft design and production, and in a range of business skills including marketing, pricing and customer relations, will be delivered with a view to the development of a financially self-sustaining business at the completing of the funding period.
Planned Impact
There will be five principle impacts from this project, these being realised at different levels in the short term (the 12 month duration of funding) and over the longer term. The impact will be measured by quantitative data (income generation, employment statistics) and qualitative measures via a programme of structured interviews with the participants undertaken at three monthly interviews throughout the 12 month funding period and over the following three years (2021-23). The record of those interviews will provide a resource for analysing the overall success of the project.
1. Tackling and alleviating poverty: The income generated from the sale of handcrafts will contribute towards poverty alleviation in Faynan and Gregira. It is difficult to estimate the extent and scale of what will be achieved, but the aim is to involve women from at least 20 different families into the cooperative. Visitor numbers to Faynan are increasing, with the opportunity to sell handicraft products to an estimated three thousand visitors to Faynan within 2021. Even small levels of additional income will make a substantial difference to the economic well-being of families in Faynan. The Women's Cooperative will keep detailed accounts of sales, income and expenditure, and the number of families benefiting from the income (this being an integral part of the Women's business training). This will be recorded by the project at the monthly intervals once the products are available during the project (most likely in Sept-December 2020), and at three monthly intervals over the longer term, along with structured interviews to assess the significance of the additional income to their livelihoods.
2. Empowerment: By providing training in handicraft techniques, business and management, the skills, confidence and self-esteem of the Bedouin women in Faynan will be enhanced. The project will provide an opportunity for the women to shape their own economic future, and to use the skills they acquire in other business enterprises. This will be measured via structured interviews with the women, undertaken at their time of their recruitment, at Milestones 1 and 2, and at the end of the funding period (December 2020). Structured interviews will continue at three monthly interviews over the longer term (2021-23).
3. Enhancing Gender equality: In the rural and conservative sectors of Jordanian society, women tend to have less autonomy, a lower social status and are sometimes perceived as having lower value to society. They are discriminated against in terms of work access, opportunities, payment and employment programs. Poverty is most severe among families headed by women, who fall significantly below the country's poverty line. The current employment opportunities in Faynan are biased towards men. Over the short term, gender equality will be enhanced by the employment opportunities and income streams made available to the women, while in the longer term the project aims is to make a measurable difference in the ambitions, aspirations and opportunities for the daughters of the Women who will be leading the cooperative.
4. Social cohesion: The Bedouin community of Faynan is divided into five tribes - the Azazma, Amarin, Saidiyin, Rashaydah and Manaja. Because of geographical distribution in the landscape, these tribes currently have different levels of access to employment at the hotel and in agriculture, this creating a degree of tension. The tribes also differ in terms of the types of knowledge and skills they contain, some being more business effective and others having more traditional skills. Following the Bedouin women's own request, the new cooperative will include women from all five tribes, enabling skills and knowledge to be shared and enhancing social cohesion throughout Faynan.
5. Enhanced cross-sector collaboration between Universities and NGOs using the outcomes from Arts & Humanities research for international development.
1. Tackling and alleviating poverty: The income generated from the sale of handcrafts will contribute towards poverty alleviation in Faynan and Gregira. It is difficult to estimate the extent and scale of what will be achieved, but the aim is to involve women from at least 20 different families into the cooperative. Visitor numbers to Faynan are increasing, with the opportunity to sell handicraft products to an estimated three thousand visitors to Faynan within 2021. Even small levels of additional income will make a substantial difference to the economic well-being of families in Faynan. The Women's Cooperative will keep detailed accounts of sales, income and expenditure, and the number of families benefiting from the income (this being an integral part of the Women's business training). This will be recorded by the project at the monthly intervals once the products are available during the project (most likely in Sept-December 2020), and at three monthly intervals over the longer term, along with structured interviews to assess the significance of the additional income to their livelihoods.
2. Empowerment: By providing training in handicraft techniques, business and management, the skills, confidence and self-esteem of the Bedouin women in Faynan will be enhanced. The project will provide an opportunity for the women to shape their own economic future, and to use the skills they acquire in other business enterprises. This will be measured via structured interviews with the women, undertaken at their time of their recruitment, at Milestones 1 and 2, and at the end of the funding period (December 2020). Structured interviews will continue at three monthly interviews over the longer term (2021-23).
3. Enhancing Gender equality: In the rural and conservative sectors of Jordanian society, women tend to have less autonomy, a lower social status and are sometimes perceived as having lower value to society. They are discriminated against in terms of work access, opportunities, payment and employment programs. Poverty is most severe among families headed by women, who fall significantly below the country's poverty line. The current employment opportunities in Faynan are biased towards men. Over the short term, gender equality will be enhanced by the employment opportunities and income streams made available to the women, while in the longer term the project aims is to make a measurable difference in the ambitions, aspirations and opportunities for the daughters of the Women who will be leading the cooperative.
4. Social cohesion: The Bedouin community of Faynan is divided into five tribes - the Azazma, Amarin, Saidiyin, Rashaydah and Manaja. Because of geographical distribution in the landscape, these tribes currently have different levels of access to employment at the hotel and in agriculture, this creating a degree of tension. The tribes also differ in terms of the types of knowledge and skills they contain, some being more business effective and others having more traditional skills. Following the Bedouin women's own request, the new cooperative will include women from all five tribes, enabling skills and knowledge to be shared and enhancing social cohesion throughout Faynan.
5. Enhanced cross-sector collaboration between Universities and NGOs using the outcomes from Arts & Humanities research for international development.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Steven Mithen (Principal Investigator) |
Description | The ABIF project is establishing a new business enterprise in Faynan, Southern Jordan, as a means to generate income for the local community. The enterprise is the 'Faynan Heritage Womens' Association', which has been formally registered in Jordan. The project is providing training in business and craft production to the women members of this association, that has led to the design of new craft items for sale. Progress has been delayed by covid-19, but we anticipate the business will start operating by the autumn of 2021.The project was enhanced by the award of the Newton-Khalidi Prize for Jordan for the AHRC project 'Our Past, OPut Future. All Together in Faynan'. That enabled the ABIF project to be extended by additional training and facilities for the development of pottery production, a Bedouion cafe and online sale splatform. That project was completed in March 2023. A publication is currently being prepared. |
Exploitation Route | We anticipate that ABIF will provide a case study for how cultural heritage can contribute to sustainable development that can inform future projects in similarly economically impoverished by culturally-rich regions of the world. |
Sectors | Culture Heritage Museums and Collections Retail Other |
URL | https://research.reading.ac.uk/archaeology-for-the-future/archaeology-into-business-in-faynan/ |
Description | The findings and outputs from the project has been delayed because of covid-19, requiring its end date to be extended to 31 March 2022. By the start of March the Faynan Women's Cultural Association has been established, training in business and craft production completion, and trading has began. A launch of the new business is schedueld for 10 March 2022. The exrtent of the priject was expanded by the award of the Newton-Prize for Jordan (for the AHRC-Khalidi Proejct ' Our past, Our Future, All Together in Faynan). This allowed additional training and facilities for pottery production, a Bedouion cafe and an online sales platform. |
First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
Sector | Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Retail,Other |
Impact Types | Cultural Economic |
Description | Council for British Research the Levant |
Organisation | Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | CBRL has a mission to support and promote UK Research in the Levant. The ABIF project supports its aims by providing funding and opportunities for promoting UK archaeological research undertaken in Faynan since the 1980s and the enabling role of CBRL. |
Collaborator Contribution | CBRL bring expertise on cultural heritage and the Bedouin community in Faynan to the project. |
Impact | Outputs remain in development |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities |
Organisation | Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities |
Country | Jordan |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities (FPEC) is a Jordanian NGO working for sustainable development in Jordan. The ABIF project provides FPEC with funding support, expertise and an opportunity for it to progress its mission in Faynan, Jordan. |
Collaborator Contribution | Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities (FPEC) is a Jordanian NGO working for sustainable development in Jordan.It provides expertise, experience and capability to ABIF, allowing it to deliver its project in Southern Jordan. |
Impact | Outputs have been delayed because of Covid-19. So far, the Faynan Womens' Heritage Association has been formed and officially registered in Jordan. This is a new cooperative forming a small business enterprise that will manufacture and sell craft items to tourists, these drawing on the cultural heritage of the region. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Community meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The ABIF project is totally based on community needs. During this meeting, the team announced the launch of the project, while at the same time discussed other points to consider during the implementation phase. Involved 11 key community members of men and women, 8 team members |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Handicrafts and Management Training |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Capacity building and training about finance, product design, quality control, marketing and social media, business plan development, and handicrafts (i.e. manual copper cut). While providing regular updates about the project outputs and acting upon necessary recommendations. Workshops with 20 community members took place on five occasions: 4-6/10/2020, 12-14/10/2020, 18-20/10/2020, 25-27/10/2020, 10-11/2/2021 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
Description | Project Launch Meeting with Women |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Based on coordination with the local community and focal points, the team invited all the women interested in the region to discuss the project, and announce the call for applications to participate in the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Project update |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Update to the women participants about the ongoing work: (1) FHWCA: Presentation of internal policy for the established Faynan Heritage Women Cultural Association (FHWCA); (2) Presentation of the design of the tent with its location; and (3) Handicrafts training update; (4) Following steps. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Social Cohesion and Life Skills Training |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Interactive sessions with the women participants were divided around the community, communication, life skills, social cohesion, self-knowledge and the overall ABIF project. While providing regular updates about the project outputs and acting upon necessary recommendations. Two workshops were undertaken, on 29/8/2020 and 1/9/2020 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |