Something buzzing in Nabi Samwil

Nawal and Eid Barakat

Something new is buzzing in the hilltop village of Nabi Samwil, a seam zone community whose problems I described in blogs of March 20 and February 24. The Feminist Association, headed by Nawal Barakat, arranged with a Swedish NGO to set up an apiary program with about three hives for each family, which were set up last week. The   community is looking forward to the income from this new economic activity.

We did not get too close to the bees, but we saw beekeepers in their protective gear heading for the hives and taking care of them.

Eid (right) and two women head for the hives

Some of the hives

The Feminist Association has also arranged for a photography course to be offered by a professor from Abu Dis University. Ten women are enrolled in the five-day course, with five hours each day, and upon completion they are to receive a free camera. The organization is planning to charter a bus again next month to repeat last year's  trip for women and children to Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Haifa, and Akko, with a chance to swim in the Mediterranean. Nawal says they had the required permit and did not have to go through a single checkpoint.

Eid shows plat made with French aid

The Feminist Association arranged for two recent grants from the French Consulate--one for the construction of an assembly tent and toilet by the clinic in the Palestinian village of Al-Khalayleh (see blog of April 6), and the other for legal assistance to defend the Barakats against the demolition order on their animal shelter (see blog of March 20). Eid showed us the plat and survey done with the French aid, and said lawyers have succeeded in getting the court date postponed for another three weeks.