The first Rural Development Programme to support the local communities was launched in 1999 and has been developing ever since. It focuses on green growth and economic diversification of the local communities by supporting value chains of high-quality traditional products from the harvesting and sustainable cultivation of plants, with a focus on the establishment of early buyer-producer partnerships. This was strengthened by filling any gaps of infrastructures for tourism, education, and conservation.
In addition to the distribution of seedlings, training, and developing the capacities of farmers within the sustainable agriculture program, some activities targeted food production ateliers and beekeepers in order to obtain products with high quality and reliability.
To guarantee the quality of the products, a full traceability system “from farm to market” was adopted by SBR.
In cooperation with several partners such as Istituto Oikos, and Chico Mendes, Fair Trade - Italy, UNIDO, and Beirut Arab University, the SBR has worked on building the capacities of farmers and producers, upscaling ateliers, and developing packaging and branding, with a focus on adding the nutritional facts on each product.
Food production ateliers partnering with the SBR:
Jbaa Atelier
Mrusti Atelier
Bater Atelier
Botmeh Atelier