SİLVA EL-İBRAHİM

Manbij- Pomegranate juice contains higher levels of antioxidants than most other fruit juices and it has many benefits for human health. The city of Manbij is well known for its pomegranates. Many families in the city earn a livelihood by making pomegranate juice and women mostly take part in all stages of making juice.

She has made pomegranate juice for 50 years

60-year-old Fatina El-Abdullah learned how to make pomegranate juice from her mother when she was 10 years old. She has earned a livelihood by making pomegranate juice for 50 years. She kept making pomegranate juice after her marriage. “Every healthy person should work. I make pomegranate juice with my daughters to earn a livelihood. We begin to make pomegranate juice in October and work until the end of the season.”

“We are busy due to high demand”

Every day, Fatina El-Abdullah and her daughters remove the fruits of 100 or 150 pomegranates and boil them to make juice. “I begin to work at 5 am and end working at 14 pm. We first remove the fruits of pomegranates and then we add water to them and boil them. People love homemade pomegranate juice. We are very busy this season due to high demand. People of Aleppo come here to buy pomegranate juice.”

Her project provides job opportunities for women

Fatima El-Salim has carried out a project with her son-in-law for three years. “We hire women to make pomegranate juice. We launched this project to earn a livelihood. Six-nine women work with us within the scope of our project. Our project provides job opportunities for women. I am one of the managers of the project and support women. We have a nice time together,” she told us.

Homemade pomegranate juice is healthier

Homemade pomegranate juice is preferred, Fatima El-Salim said, adding, “Because homemade pomegranate juice is more hygienic. It is also good for diabetic patients. Factory-made pomegranate juice contains a lot of sugar and salt. Homemade pomegranate juice is healthier than factory-made pomegranate juice.”