In the Bazian community outside Sulaymaniyah, a short, focused project set out to put income — and the skills to earn it — within reach of local women and young people.

From 1 September to 31 December 2024, PDO ran a project in Bazian to strengthen the economic capacity of women and young people. Supported by the cement company Lafarge, it concentrated on something practical: the skills people need to adapt to changing circumstances and to build their own sources of income and livelihood.

How it workedRooted in the community

The project did its work out in the open, in a community hall where residents could gather. Sessions drew a genuine cross-section of Bazian — women, young people, and members of the wider community sitting together around the same conversation about work, skills and opportunity.

The aimSkills people can use, income they can count on

Behind the activity was a simple goal: to leave participants with capabilities they could actually put to work, and with steadier footing to provide for themselves and their families in a community where economic opportunity is not always easy to come by.