Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)
One of the oldest non-profit organizations in the State of Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) supports Palestinian farmers to attain food sovereignty. UAWC works with farmers across Palestine, including vulnerable groups in remote and marginalized areas, to restore and conserve natural resources and rights to access these resources through four main program areas: land rehabilitation and restoration, water management, infrastructure development, and income diversification A centerpiece of UAWC’s work towards food sovereignty and income generation is a Bank for Local Seeds, which stores and documents seeds from local plant varieties to protect them from extinction. The seed bank currently has in its storage unit 270 samples from 36 agricultural crop varieties, belonging to 12 plant families. A parallel keystone area of UAWC’s work is raising awareness about the issues facing Palestinians in general, and the agricultural sector in particular, lobbying for the human rights of Palestinian farmers, herders, and fishermen. UAWC addresses women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming as a cross sectional issue throughout all its programming, supporting women to engage on equal footing with men.
Key Facts
Equator Prize Winner: 2014
Founded: 1986
Location: The State of Palestine
Beneficiaries: Over 30,000 families in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip
Area of Focus: Agriculture, food sovereignty, and political
advocacy
Case Study
Find other Winners' Case Studies in our E-Library
Equator Prize 2014
Middle East And North Africa
Ecoagriculture and Food Security
Drylands Management
Contact Information
Fuad Abu Saif
Email: uawc@p-ol.com
Language(s): Arabic, English
Share this page: