Outside major cities, there is little on offer to help Yemen’s younger generations develop an entrepreneurial spirit – or the necessary skills – to build their own businesses. Even where vocational and entrepreneurial skills training has been available, young people – and women in particular – are often unable to attend these courses either because of the cost or the need to travel to training centres. Even before the latest conflict erupted or the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Yemen was a country confronted by increasing economic, social, and political challenges. Today, by the latest estimates, some 24.1 million people – more than 80 per cent of the population – are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance or protection. In direct response, a new training programme – supported by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) – is bringing business skills to some of the poorest communities in Yemen. The Vocational and Business Skills Training and Support Project is helping young women and men (18-40) from rural areas gain the skills they need to build and maintain their own businesses and foster economic growth and a new entrepreneurial culture in their communities.  Helping these young people build sustainable businesses is not just about ensuring an income for that one family: it is part of a drive to restore livelihoods and eventually contribute to the country’s economic recovery. The project is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Small and Micro Enterprise Promotion Agency (SMEPS) who see these young Yemenis and their new businesses as a critical part of a more resilient future for Yemen. “The ‘My First Business’ training focuses on how to start your own business. Trainees are taught the concepts of entrepreneurship, self-management and time-management, as well as business planning,” explains Mr. Mithaq, an entrepreneurship skills trainer in Lahj. The course is all about the practical steps needed to make a business a success. For example, trainees are shown how to create a business plan, looking at gaps in the market and helping them understand what is needed to make their own business succeed. They calculate expenses and revenues and identify the assets needed to start a small business. Each trainee also receives essential tools and equipment - in-kind - to help them get their business off the ground. “We work with the trainees throughout each of these steps,” says Mr. Raouf. “We help them to estimate the value of their product and to understand the criteria for profit and loss. By the end of the programme each trainee will have come up with a business plan to help them get started.” The participants receive theoretical training in their different fields, as a first basic step in the project. They then move onto vocational and technical training where they learn from experienced professionals working in their trade of choice. For the last step, the trainees create their business plans – and receive essential tools and equipment – to turn what they have learned into a real business. The value of the in-kind support they receive depends on the trade they are training in, with a maximum of US$ 1,000 for those in mobile phone maintenance. Mr. Faris, a trainee in weaving Ma'awiz (a men’s kilt commonly worn in Yemen), says: “My First Business will support us with US$ 600 for the basic materials and equipment to start our projects.” Ms. Taiba, a trainee working in pastry making, explains that her grant will total US$ 700. “I now have sufficient knowledge in how to manage money,” she says, adding that she has studied the market and is confident there will be demand for her products. The participants come each day from villages across Lahj to be trained in business management skills. Each individual is driven by the same motive: to create a different reality for themselves and to help change the lives of their families for the better. “My husband is a daily wage worker, and we barely manage to provide for our basic needs,” says Mrs. Afaf Ali, a trainee in pastry making.  Ms. Shams – a trainee working in Ma’awiz weaving – is in a similar situation. “We live in a house shared by three families, and no one has a stable job,” she explains. The Project covers eight districts across Hadramout, Lahj, Ibb, and Dhamar governorates, and has worked with trainess across food processing (196), textiles and handloom (226), and technical skills (90). “This project will change my life,” says trainee Mr. Moqbel, with an air of confidence. “Before, we led a small life, and now we are moving to a better life. I am optimistic about my Ma’awiz weaving business – it will bring us out of our difficult living situation.” For Ms. Nima Ali, a trainee working in pastry making, the project has given her a new sense of self. “Being on the course made me feel like a businesswoman,” she says. “I started learning, I trained and now I can start my own business and improve my life.” *** The Vocational and Business Skills Training and Support Project is funded by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Center (KSrelief) and implemented in partnership with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Small and Micro Enterprise Promotion Service (SMEPS). The US$ 3,000,000 project helps improve Yemeni livelihoods and access to productive services through provision of training and support in: agro-business and food processing, textiles and handloom, in addition to technical skills (carpentry, and maintenance of cars, mobile phones and appliances). The project also provides project participants with training on business planning and management.

18/10/2021 The impacts of the ongoing conflict such as damages to vital irrigation infrastructures have exacerbated her vulnerabilities and threatened her ability to sustain her livelihood and provide food for her children.  “We work in farming because it is all we have and all we know. We were extremely affected by the conflict because we depend on water from wells to irrigate our crops…we could not keep up with the agricultural calendar [due to the lack of sustainable access to water], our land was exposed to increased pest infestation…and we lost some of our livestock.” explained Zahr.  With the support of the Government of Kuwait, FAO repaired and rehabilitated water canals and irrigation networks and constructed small-scale water infrastructures across Yemen, enhancing the availability of water for small-holder farmers. Moreover, FAO supported the formation of water user’s associations/groups to enhance community-based management of water resources, promote the inclusion of rural women in decision-making and prevent water-related conflicts. “FAO helped us by rehabilitating the main water canals through cash-for-work activities that benefited 400 farmers [both men and women] from my village. Because of FAO’s work, rainwater reached our land and agriculture became much more stable and productive… we planted sesame, almonds, animal fodder and cereal crops…my family benefited from cash-for-work activities, we were able sell our crops and generate income. Thanks to the increased income, I was able to buy more sheep and a solar panel…we even expect more yield in the coming season.” explained Zahr.  Through this collaboration between FAO and Kuwait, rural women like Zahr across Yemen are becoming more resilient in the face of the ongoing crisis. They are empowered to mitigate the impacts of frequent shocks and navigate their way through the protracted crisis, benefiting themselves and their communities. 

In the corner of a room containing nothing more than a small bed and a medicine cabinet, a midwife places a stethoscope over her ears and opens a big bag full of surgical tools. This is a delivery room inside a small house in the rural village of Bani Mohammed in Taiz Governorate. “As a young woman, I was horrified by the experiences of pregnant women suffering delivery complications, prolonged over the long journey to the nearest health facility,” Bassima, a tireless midwife explains. Bassima, a proactive young woman, lives a seemingly regular day-to-day life with her family. But thanks to Bassima’s mother, the lives of many women in her village were changed for the better. A caring woman, she has spent her entire life assisting safe childbirth. A role model to so many, she instilled a sentiment of responsibility and willingness to extend a helping hand to others in her neighbours, friends and her in her thirty-five-year-old daughter, Bassima. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Bassima was working as a volunteer midwife in one of the village clinics, a half hour walk from her home. After two years, she moved to At Turbah city, where she successfully completed a three-year diploma in midwifery. With determination and diligence, Bassima gathered the strength she needed to complete her education and overcome difficult financial challenges. "During the three academic years, I was away from home, and I remember that I slept hungry some days,” she says. Once graduated, Bassima struggle to equip her maternity clinic and start her career, but she never gave up hope. "As a member of the local community committee, I helped prepare a list of vulnerable women who aspire to run their own businesses, improve their living conditions and become more self-reliant. Later, I discovered that I was also selected...what a great feeling! It is inexpressible,” she explains. Bassima joined a 10-day training course on business management, and then received a US$ 600 seed grant to purchase equipment for her clinic. Now, she helps deliver 10 babies per month, charging only what the family can afford unconditional fee. "It's a non-profit business that’s main aim is to serve the community,” she declares. When Amira Saeed was pregnant, she couldn’t afford to travel 1.5 hours to the nearest hospital. As a result, she couldn’t access the antenatal care she needed. As her delivery day was approaching she became worried. She asked herself, where will I deliver my baby? Can my husband and I afford the hospital expenses and transportation cost? As the birth drew closer, she learned from other women in her village that there was a midwifery clinic close by that provided professional services for an affordable fee. This news was exciting and weeks later, Amira delivered her baby safely. “I realized, nothing is impossible,” Bassima declares. “Not only did this project economically empowered me, but also gave me a leading role in my household. Now, I can say that I am a decision-maker. I can study whenever I want, I work out of the house late at night if necessary, and most importantly, I plan for my future independently,” she announces happily. ***  These activities were implemented as a part of the Supporting Resilient Livelihoods and Food Security in Yemen Joint Programme (ERRYJP II) in partnership with OXFAM and generous funding and support from the European Union (EU) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

Over the past seven years, Abdurrahman’s ability to maintain his livelihood and put food on the table has been threatened by a combination of factors precipitated by the ongoing conflict. Economic deterioration, damages to vital irrigation infrastructure, his dependency on inefficient irrigation methods and the vulnerability of his land to the impacts of floods, left him in constant fear of the future. As a coping strategy, Abdurrahman built rudimentary and relatively costly dams to protect his land and crops from floods. Yet, seasonal floods continued to flush away his land, crops and hopes in a blink of an eye. With funding from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme and the support of the World Bank, FAO implemented the “Smallholder agricultural production restoration and enhancement project” during the period from August 2017 to June 2021. The project supported vulnerable small scale farming households across Yemen through financing community projects to increase smallholders’ production, income and food security. In Abdurrahman’s village, the project constructed and rehabilitated floodwalls and irrigation canals, enabling Abdurrahman to sustainability irrigate and protect his flood prone land from erosion.  “We have benefited greatly from this project. Most importantly, through the protection of our land from soil erosion. The construction of irrigation canals has saved us a lot of trouble and money…we can now irrigate our land any time, as these canals have improved the availability of water, unlike in the past.” said Abdurrahman. According to Abdurrahman, the project has given a new lease of life to farmers in his community and renewed their sense of hope. In this more resilient environment, they can confidently invest in their lands and help their communities persevere during the crisis.