In a special feature yesterday, Al Akhbar newspaper drew attention to the unique production of carob molasses by some 11 women working within the collectively-managed Agricultural and Food-Processing Cooperative of Ain Ebel, Bint Jbeil in the South, Al Akhbar wrote. The coop is the exclusive owner of a carob press in the region which has turned it into an authorized center for local farmers, agricultural associations and municipalities involved in carob tree cultivation. On the subject, the newspaper spoke to the leader of the above coop, Tamam Maroun, who stressed that “the female-run association has inspired many to cooperate with us.” Women, she said, guarantee hygiene, honesty in services against fraud and unfair trade prices, in addition good quality products. Maroun pointed out that most women in the nearby towns and villages would have had to move to urban areas because of scarce livelihood prospects. Suzy Farah, a co-partner in the coop, explained that it all started with a vocational training program implemented by YMCA in the liberated part of the South when 11 women beneficiaries have been shortlisted and have later in 2002 set up the said cooperative. Terese Atmeh, 71 years, also boasted that the coop has changed her life. But while financial gains from the coop are not high, the activity and networking have become unlimited in terms of expanding on the immediate local scene and also with cooperatives in Lebanon and the world, Al Akhbar wrote. The reputation of the southern carob molasses has reached as far as the pharmaceutical industry in Italy. To this effect, an Italian pharmaceutical company is importing carob seeds for pharmaceutical purposes, and another Italian research association is currently conducting a study on the benefits of the carob waste in agricultural composting, Al Akhbar said. (Al Akhbar, December 18, 2017)
