Building Inclusive Markets and Decent Work for Syrian Refugees and Lebanese Host Communities (BOUZOUR)

Project information

• Approach

  The BOUZOUR project was aligned with the idea of "doing development differently" and applied the ILO's Approach to Inclusive Market Systems (AIMS) for Refugees and Vulnerable Groups. This approach tackles the root causes of market issues affecting people in poverty, aiming for lasting, sustainable change. Instead of delivering goods and services directly, the project looked at the overall system in which people live and make a living, asking why certain groups struggle to access economic opportunities.

  By understanding these root causes, the project designed interventions to address them sustainably. This meant collaborating with a range of public and private actors, providing incentives and building their capacity so they could deliver goods and services on a lasting basis. To support sustainability, the project sought to create win-win situations in which both the actor delivering a good or service and the person receiving it stood to gain from the transaction.

• Rationale

  The BOUZOUR project focused on improving livelihoods for vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian populations, particularly women, by addressing challenges in the agriculture sector related to food security, climate change and sustainable development. It aimed to enhance on-farm productivity through new technologies, safeguard jobs, and explore local and international market opportunities through import substitution and export.

  By developing agricultural value chains, the project sought to create economic opportunities benefiting both Lebanese host communities and Syrian refugees, and to support social cohesion. It also promoted climate resilience through greener production practices, helping agri-businesses and farmers increase revenues, secure jobs and improve working conditions.

  Decent work was integrated across all interventions, with the aim of improving working conditions, strengthening workers' rights and creating mutually beneficial solutions for all stakeholders.

• Outcomes

  The project was structured around four interlinked outcomes contributing to decent job creation:

  • Outcome 1: Increased productivity and decent working conditions in the covered horticulture sector
  • Outcome 2: Farmers and agri-businesses connected to upgraded market opportunities in one identified sector
  • Outcome 3: Farmers enabled to use solar energy systems for electricity generation
  • Outcome 4: Farmers and small agri-businesses capacitated to better manage their activities and resources