Anera’s Women Can Program Helps Palestinian Baker Expand Her Business in Palestine

Meet Khyria, a baker from Qabalan, Palestine, locally famous for her giant bread loaves.

“The only thing I know for sure is baking,” says Khyria. “To my neighbors, my bread is famous,” she says with evident pride. She mixes white and black wheat to make her own special flour mix. Sometimes she also bakes cookies with sesame, using a recipe she learned from her mother.

The bumpy roads of Qabalan village lead to Khyria’s modest house. “I have lived in this neighborhood for 30 years. I am rooted in this village,” Khyria says.

Khyria uses an old mud oven, much like the ones her grandmothers would have used generations ago. Khyria recalls that as a child her family “had nothing.” In her youth she began earning money by selling baked goods to her neighbors.

Her bread became “really popular” in the village. However, she had to stop baking for some years to raise her four young children.

After learning about the Women Can project, her daughter convinced Khyria to propose her bakery project to Anera. She is excited that the cash support from the program enables her to transform her lifelong love for baking into a viable small business that will support her family. For Khyria, the bakery is a family effort and everyone has a role to play.

Khyria is excited about the project. “The giant size of the loaves makes my bread special. This project will make baking more efficient and help keep my unique bread alive.”

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Anera’s Women Can program is generously funded by Islamic Relief USA. The views expressed herein are those of Anera and shall not, in any way whatsoever, be construed to reflect the official opinion of Islamic Relief USA, its Islamic Relief affiliates, or its donors.