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U.S. helps small businesses in Yemen thrive [1]
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Date: 2024-10-11 17:27:55+00:00
For women from rural coastal villages who earn their living as freedivers and fisherwomen, a lack of equipment and training often meant they were diving off boats in flip-flops and selling what they collected for far below market price.
The divers collect the hard plates of mollusks called onycha, a sought-after ingredient for incense used in the Middle East. Onycha is valued as high as $340 per .45 kilogram (per pound) in online markets, but the women were only able to sell their goods for $20 per .45 kilogram (per pound).
In May 2023, 30 of these women from two women’s associations participated in USAID’s two-week advanced freediving and market-linkages training.
In addition to providing the women with diving equipment such as suits, fins and masks, USAID’s Economic Recovery and Livelihoods Program taught the women breathing techniques to optimize dive times.
Introducing these women to broader markets for onycha allowed them to double their income.
“I am gathering double the amount as I was before,” said Amlak, a diver and fisherwoman, “and thanks to the marketing and negotiation skills I learned, I am getting better prices for my products and have doubled my income.”
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[1] Url:
https://share.america.gov/us-helps-small-businesses-in-yemen-thrive/
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