Hala Abdel Karim, 36, is among 42 female entrepreneurs who were selected by the Ma’an Development Center to receive a financial grant and set up their own business as part of the “No to Work in Settlements” project. She lives in the village of Zbeidat located in the Jordan Valley on the border between the Palestinian territories and Jordan.

She spends her day working on her farm in the Jordan Valley, which stretches over about 650 dunums, as she grows and picks aromatic herbs, especially basil, for export to foreign countries. This came as an alternative to her work in the Israeli settlements, which resulted from the lack of opportunities in the Palestinian labor market.

Through the grant provided by Ma’an, Hala managed to set up a greenhouse dedicated to the cultivation of aromatic plants for export to foreign markets.

“We own agricultural lands, but we do not have the financial means to set up greenhouses and purchase other inputs for cultivation. Therefore, we find that working in the settlements is a viable alternative to make ends meet,” she told Al-Monitor over the phone.