Today, the Palestinian economy remains heavily dependent on the Israeli economy and on foreign aid, and the Palestinians are still unable to create a viable economic base. UPA is well-aware of these development challenges, and seeks to counter them by funding projects that will on the one hand relieve the Palestinians’ suffering, and will on the other hand create new engines of social and economic development for the Palestinian territories. UPA especially seeks to focus on areas and communities neglected by other large donor agencies and countries, using some smaller- scale, grassroots projects. One of the recently- funded projects serving these goals is the “Home Garden” project.

The "Home Garden” project was a successful pilot project implemented by the Land Research Center (LRC), a local partner NGO in the West Bank.
The main purpose of this project is to provide a group of needy women who own suitable pieces of land near their houses with a complete set of farming equipment, a watering system, and training so that they can plant and grow commercial agricultural crops in their lands. Thus, these women can earn an income from the project and are able to reduce their poverty, in addition to producing food for their own families to eat.

The beneficiaries of this project are eight women from Soreef district in Hebron Province. Soreef is one of the poorest areas in the West Bank. It is also one of the areas that has been directly affected by the Israeli separation wall. The women selected all come from very poor backgrounds, yet still own a piece of land that can be utilized for basic farming. These women were provided with a complete watering system, with its all necessary equipment and accessories, in addition to fertilizers, plants, and seeds needed to grow agricultural crops, including cauliflower, eggplants, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The Land Research Center then provided technical help and training on the management of home gardens, skills that can be utilized by the women for years later.

This project achieves multiple goals:
• First, it improves the living standards of eight households in one of the most underserved geographic areas. A total of 43 members of these eight households directly benefit from the project, half of whom are children.

• Second, it empowers a number of women in remote Palestinian villages, who would otherwise be relegated to the household.

• Third, it reduces unemployment, which has increased significantly in the Palestinian Territories as a result of closure and the construction of the separation wall.

• Fourth, it boosts the Palestinian agricultural sector, which has been massively affected by the Israeli policies of land confiscation and expropriation of water resources. Israel’s additional practice of flooding the Palestinian markets with highly subsidized agricultural products has forced a substantial number of workers out of the agricultural sector.

• Last but not least, this project fosters the growth of green areas in the Palestinian Territories, an environmental goal often swept aside in large development projects.

Through projects like this one, UPA is making a difference in the lives of many needy people and under-served communities. The “Home Garden” project is just one vivid example of how a small project with a limited budget can reduce the poverty and suffering of dozens of people, and more importantly, build the capacity of local Palestinians so that they become more independent, self-sufficient, and productive.

*UPA seeks to replicate the success of this project and is now funding a similar project in Gaza.