Economic Empowerment Projects
Four sustainable livelihood programs helping vulnerable families build income, food security, and long term independence through livestock, fishing, youth enterprise, and women led businesses.
Goats Herding
Contact to DonateExecutive Summary
Yemen’s ongoing conflict has left millions of rural families in extreme poverty, with limited access to sustainable sources of income. The Goat Ownership Project aims to empower vulnerable households by providing them with three female goats and one male goat each, along with training and technical support. This intervention will enable families to generate sustainable income through milk production, breeding, and the sale of livestock, thereby improving food security and resilience.
The Urgent Need
Rural families in Yemen, especially women and children, face acute poverty, food insecurity, and a lack of livelihood opportunities. Many depend on daily labor or seasonal agriculture, which is unreliable and insufficient. Goat ownership offers a rapid, sustainable, and culturally appropriate pathway to income generation and improved nutrition.
Target Areas
Al Hudaydah, and Abyan governorates
Selected rural villages in Taiz
Based on poverty indicators and lack of access to stable income sources.
Project Activities
Beneficiary Selection: Identify eligible families based on poverty, lack of income, and household composition.
Goat Distribution: Provide each family with three female goats and one male goat.
Capacity Building: Deliver training on goat husbandry, animal health, and dairy processing.
Technical Support: Conduct regular field visits for follow-up, veterinary care, and problem-solving.
Community Solidarity: Encourage families to pass on offspring to other vulnerable households, fostering a culture of mutual support.
Expected Impact
Sustainable monthly income for beneficiary families.
Improved nutrition for children and women through daily milk consumption.
Increased self-reliance and reduced dependency on humanitarian aid.
Project Output
40 families equipped with a small goat herd.
Daily production of milk and dairy products.
Annual increase in livestock numbers through breeding.
Enhanced local expertise in goat rearing.
Project Objectives
Enable vulnerable families to establish a sustainable source of income.
Improve household food security and nutrition.
Empower women as key actors in rural economic activities.
Build local capacity in small livestock management and entrepreneurship.
Offshore Fishing
Contact to DonateExecutive Summary
Yemen’s coastal communities have been severely affected by conflict, economic collapse, and environmental challenges, leaving thousands of small-scale fishermen without reliable livelihoods. This project aims to restore and enhance the income-generating capacity of vulnerable fishermen by providing essential support: boat repairs, new outboard engines, and comprehensive fishing gear kits. Through this intervention, families will regain access to sustainable income, improved food security, and greater community resilience.
The Urgent Need
Small-scale fishermen in Yemen’s Red Sea and Arabian Sea coastal areas face deteriorating boats, lack of functional engines, and insufficient fishing equipment. Many have lost their only means of income, resulting in increased poverty, food insecurity, and migration. Immediate support is needed to restore their productive assets and enable them to resume fishing safely and efficiently.
Target Areas
Selected coastal communities in Al Hudaydah (Al Khawkhah, Al Luhayyah)
Hadramawt (Mukalla)
Taiz (Mokha)
Identified based on vulnerability, loss of assets, and dependence on small-scale fishing.
Project Activities
Beneficiary Selection: Identify eligible fishermen based on loss of assets, poverty, and family size.
Boat Repairs: Provide materials and technical support for repairing damaged fishing boats.
Engine Provision: Supply new outboard engines to replace non-functional or lost units.
Fishing Gear Kits: Distribute comprehensive kits including nets, lines, hooks, and safety equipment.
Capacity Building: Train beneficiaries in boat maintenance, engine care, and sustainable fishing techniques.
Expected Impact
Immediate restoration of income for 80 fishing families.
Increased fish catch and improved food security.
Reduced risk and improved safety for fishermen.
Strengthened community resilience and local economic activity.
Project Output
10 fishing boats repaired and operational.
10 new outboard engines installed.
10 fishing gear kits distributed.
10 households with restored and sustainable livelihoods.
Project Objectives
Restore the productive capacity of small-scale fishermen.
Improve household income and food security in coastal communities.
Enhance safety and efficiency in artisanal fishing operations.
Build local capacity in boat maintenance and sustainable fishing practices.
Ice Cream Motorbike
Contact to DonateExecutive Summary
Pure Hands launched the 2024 Motorbike with an Ice Cream Cart Distribution Project in Yemen to empower 60 unemployed youth. With a total budget of $108,000 ($1,800/beneficiary), the project provides motorbikes attached to ice cream carts—used for selling ice cream in summer and inner-city transit in winter—to help impoverished families achieve sustainable self-sufficiency.
The Urgent Need
Over 21.6 million people in Yemen (~66% of the population) required humanitarian aid in 2023, leaving impoverished families unable to afford basic necessities. To address severe economic hardships following war and conflict, sustainable early recovery interventions are urgently needed to transition families from short-term aid dependency to long-term income generation.
Target Areas
Selection: Neediest households identified via field investigations.
Coordination: Planned in partnership with local authorities.
Project Activities
Equipment Provision: Supplying 60 complete motorbike-cart packages.
Equipment Provision: Supplying 60 complete motorbike-cart packages.
Summer: Selling ice cream using the attached cart.
Winter: Removing the ice cream cart to use the motorbike for inner-city transportation.
Expected Impact
Income Generation: Increases household income for targeted impoverished families.
Livelihood Enhancement: Enables families to afford basic life necessities and achieve a dignified life.
Youth Empowerment: Engages unemployed youth in productive work and promotes self-sufficiency.
Project Output
Motorbike (150 horsepower).
Ice cream cart equipped with an umbrella.
Fiberglass storage box for ice cream.
Safety kit.
Maintenance kit.
Maintenance training session.
Project Objectives
Primary Goal: Enhance the livelihoods of impoverished families by providing motorbikes with ice cream carts to capable and willing individuals.
Specific Target: Benefit 60 individuals/households in the year 2024.
Embroidery & Sewing
Contact to DonateExecutive Summary
Women in Yemen face significant barriers to economic participation due to conflict, social norms, and limited access to formal employment. The Home-Based Sewing and Embroidery Project aims to empower vulnerable women by providing them with sewing machines, embroidery kits, and comprehensive training. This intervention will enable women to generate sustainable income from home, improve their families’ livelihoods, and foster social inclusion.
The Urgent Need
Many Yemeni women, especially widows, female heads of household, and those in rural or conflict-affected areas, lack access to safe and dignified income opportunities. Traditional skills in sewing and embroidery are widespread but underutilized due to lack of equipment, materials, and market access. Supporting home-based production offers a culturally appropriate, flexible, and sustainable pathway to economic empowerment.
Target Areas
Rural and peri-urban communities in Aden
Taiz
Lahij
Selected based on women’s vulnerability, skills, and market potential.
Project Activities
Beneficiary Selection: Identify eligible women based on vulnerability, skills, and motivation.
Equipment Provision: Supply each beneficiary with a sewing machine, embroidery kit, and starter materials.
Capacity Building: Deliver training in sewing, embroidery, product design, business management, and marketing.
Market Linkages: Facilitate access to local markets, cooperatives, and online sales platforms.
Ongoing Support: Provide mentorship, technical assistance, and peer networking opportunities.
