My name is Youmin Nasser Al Khoder. I am from the northern Governorate of Akkar in Lebanon. I live in a small village called Berdeh.

Clean and tasty food. It’s my work. When I work, I feel like I own the world.

I plant according to two seasons: summer and winter.

In winter I plant cauliflower, cabbage, winter lettuce, chard, spinach, coriander and parsley. I build a tent for the parsley to hide it from the rain and the cold. I do the same for coriander. In summer I plant potatoes. I plant tomatoes, green beans, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, melon and watermelon. I also plant summer lettuce.

Sometimes, if I have some left, I trade them just to get back the cost of seeds and for medicines. And a bit for my labour.

We also have animals: cows, sheep, and chickens. They help me a lot. With their manure I don’t need to buy fertilizer. I benefit greatly from them.

The most important thing is that our vegetables are clean, with no chemicals or sewage.

I am very happy with my job, and I love it. When you don’t love your job, you’ll be unproductive.

When you love your job, you’ll be productive, whatever that job may be.

Kate Crosby/CARE

School days

[Growing up], I was in a public school in Aaidamoun (North Lebanon). I gradually began to discover that I have a talent for basketball. When I was little, I tried building a team at school to play in tournaments, but it didn’t work out. Society here is a bit tough, it didn’t allow us to start a girls team. It was very tough on us.

But I had a dream: to go to university and become a sports coach to establish a girls basketball team. They told me about a trainer at the Safadi Club. I went to him, and I told him I wanted to practice basketball to become a player, to join a team at the national level and then play in world championships.

He started talking and made me feel like I wasn’t up to it. He demoralized me. My spirits were at their lowest.

So I left, but I was depressed and didn’t want to do anything anymore. Then I thought about going to university to become a sports coach. I started working so I could go. When I went, I was surprised by the very high fees. I couldn’t afford it, so I left and stayed at my job.

Kate Crosby/CARE

Building a family’s farm

During that time, I met a friend, Jalal. He told me that he works in agriculture, that he has greenhouse projects, and that it’s good and profitable. So, I decided that I wanted to work and he encouraged me.

He stayed by my side all the time.

Whatever I needed, I could call, for example, to tell him about a disease. He would advise me and say: “Go get this medicine from that person.” I did as he told me and, little by little, I acquired skills from him. Step by step, I started planting and tending the land.

I didn’t know much. But little by little, I did.

Everyone started relying on me for farming. I plant everything so that I lack nothing at home. We are eight people at home benefiting from agriculture.

Kate Crosby/CARE

Climate change and power cuts

We are facing a lot of challenges. Climate change is a big problem. We also don’t have electricity for me to water and plant in large quantities.

We can’t plant when the power is completely cut off. If we had electricity, I would have mustered up the courage and sold in the markets to get some money.

We have electricity only two or four hours a day, so I couldn’t plant anything. I had nothing this year. I have to buy fuel and turn on the generator to fill the well and water the field. If we had electricity, I could have planted large quantities and sold them in the market. But [I can only produce] small quantities, only for our home.

Honestly, here in Lebanon, we don’t think about our dreams.

This isn’t the country of dreams; it’s the country of misery. Really. We are without electricity, medical care. We are deprived of everything. There’s nothing.

So, my dreams for my country? For it to become a just country among all the Lebanese people.

Kate Crosby/CARE

Hoping for growth

A CARE project provided us with many services.

They hold a course for us every month in the Dreib area. They give us information about farming, the diseases we might encounter, what we should do, and how to fight harmful insects, which insects are beneficial, and diseases. How to use pesticides the right way; not in large and excessive amounts as to not be harmful. They also provided us with some seeds and equipment. They helped us and are still supporting us.

It’s a bit slow but I am very grateful to them because they helped farmers and supported them during this difficult crisis.

I would like to grow my farm. I would like, for example, to export abroad. I hope the government will stop importing from abroad, especially importing vegetables. And that it will support Lebanese farmers. To not let Lebanese farmers lose a lot because of the failure of the government. This is what I wish for.

My dream for women is for them to become liberated.

– Youmin Nasser Al Khoder

[I wish] that women become the masters of themselves—independent. For women to reach positions reached by men, like the president of the republic or the head of the government and the parliament.

That’s what I wish for because some women, by their way of thinking, are worth a thousand men.

As told to CARE staff. Interview edited for clarity.

Support women like Youmin so they can have equal access to and control over economic and natural resources and can realize their dreams.