Palestinian graduate's thorny business blossoms
Haneen Ghanem's cactus-collecting hobby has flowered into the creation of a cactus nursery on a rooftop in the Jenin refugee camp.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Ever since she was a kid, Haneen Ahmed Ghanem has been fond of collecting cactus plants. What started as a hobby led her to establish this year the first cactus nursery in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
Ghanem, 23, is an agricultural engineer who graduated from the Plant Production and Protection Department at Al-Quds Open University in the West Bank. She started growing cactus and succulent plants on the balcony of her room in the Jenin camp and then published photos of her minuscule garden.
“I’ve always loved collecting cactus, and my major encouraged me to continue doing so. In time, I acquired sufficient experience in the field to start a cactus business,” Ghanem told Al-Monitor.
After graduation, Ghanem contemplated establishing the first cactus nursery in Jenin so that her hobby could become a business. She submitted her project to the Agricultural Development Association (PARC) and got the necessary funding and support to proceed. Today, her rooftop is a huge cactus nursery.
