Home - Smart DESERT Project

About Us

The Smart DESERT project aims at creating a paradigm shift in the agricultural sector in Jordan by improving the regularity of the Jordanian and Syrian beneficiaries’ income throughout the year in the North-East Badia Highlands through the diversification of production, the adoption of better farming practices and support for employment.

(The Smart DESERT project closed on November 22, 2023. This website and Smart DESERT’s social media channels are managed solely by IUCN)

About SD

Donor

Partners

Agreements with Farmers

Agreements With Home Based Businesses

Home Based Businesses Registered

Municipalities

Processing Facilities were Rehabilitated

Pillars

Business Support Incubator

Business incubators can promote economic and social empowerment among entrepreneurs of all ages. Smart DESERT,...

Smart DESERT Company

The Smart DESERT Company is a registered company established with the aim of economically empowering...

Home Based Businesses

Outside of the public sector, micro and small enterprises, including home-based businesses, are a primary...

Advocacy

Smart DESERT will focus on creating better work environments for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians...

Success Stories

Agricultural Home-Based Businesses in Jordan Thrive after Support and Training

As part of the Smart DESERT project funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), we are strengthening livelihoods and economic opportunities for vulnerable Jordanians and Syrian refugees in Jordan’s agricultural sector. Since 2021, this effort has helped 143 entrepreneurs register, license, and grow their businesses. In the North-East Badia Highlands, we work with home-based business (HBB) owners to provide core training in operations, product development and creative design, marketing, accounting, customer service, and more. Support...

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Growing Food and Friendship in the Desert

Hanan and Aysha are home-based business (HBB) entrepreneurs from Jordan. Both women started their own food-making businesses to earn an income. What neither Hanan nor Aysha could have known is how much a business training would change their futures. While HBBs play a vital role in Jordan’s economy, Jordanians and Syrian refugee entrepreneurs can face difficulties formalizing or expanding their businesses. These challenges are often compounded for HBB owners working in the agriculture sector because...

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From Farm to Market: Generating Year-Round Income for Smallholder Farmers

When Anwar was growing up, he learned a lot about farming by working in his father’s agricultural business in Jordan. Wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps, Anwar pursued a university degree in agricultural engineering. In his studies and experience with the family business, Anwar noticed an absence of agricultural food processing facilities for farmers in Mafraq. Processing and storage units were only accessible for those farming on a large scale, leaving smallholder farmers with...

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Working From Home: A Young Jordanian’s Home-Based Pickling Business

Jamal, who graduated before the beginning of the pandemic with a degree in food processing, always wanted to open his own pickling company. His original plan was to work for a few years to save up for the equipment. However, he struggled to find a job and turned to unpaid training at a food processing factory to get the experience he needed. After several months, Jamal decided it was time to open his pickling business...

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