Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – Some people here are looking for new creative ways to make a living despite high unemployment that is destroying the present and the future.
One of them is Ibrahim Abu Odeh, 34, from the city of Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Refusing to lose hope even when unemployment reached nearly 50 percent, he embarked on his first quail farm in the besieged coastal enclave.
Hunting quail on the way from freezing Europe to the warmth of the Middle East has become a vital source of income for many unemployed people in Gaza who sell them there. their local markets until they meet.
Abu Odeh was looking forward, however, and instead bought quail eggs from hunters five years ago and started raising the birds in a few cages on the roof of his family house.
Ibrahim Abu Odeh buys eggs from quail hunters and raises them in hatching [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]
“Then the work expanded, the demand increased, so I decided to rent a small piece of land near the house to build more quail,” he told Al Jazeera.
“I earn a profit of around $ 500 per month, which helps me to feed my four children and fund my master’s degree, as I am finally preparing my dissertation in accounting from an Islamic University. Gaza. “
It wasn’t always a smooth sailing – Abu Odeh said it took time to figure out how to pick up the birds and there had been problems.
“When I bought the first 1,000 eggs, half of the newborn birds died. I learned from the YouTube channels and websites the principles of building the cabbage, so I overcame those obstacles, ”he said.
“I buy the eggs from the quail hunters, then I put them in the hide and after 18 days the newborn quail is hatched. Gaza residents are keen to sell quail for the low price and good food value, ”he said.
“When the new bird weighs 250 grams, I sell it for 2.5 Israeli shekels [80 US cents]. “
Abu Odeh farm raises about 16,000 thousand birds per month, which are sold in the local market.
He and his 66-year-old father, Nasser, take care of the birds either in person on the farm or remotely through their mobile phones connected to surveillance cameras.
Quail hunters find birds caught on a beach after a long journey from Europe [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]Rising unemployment
Gaza has been under Israeli blockade for 14 years, severely limiting economic activity, especially fishing that used to be the main source of income for Palestinians in Gaza.
Fishing nets are now hung between wooden poles along the shore, allowing the “quail hunters” to catch migratory birds coming from Europe.
According to a report published by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor in January 2021, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip jumped to 56 percent after 14 years of Israeli blockade in Gaza, compared to 40 percent in 2005.
Abu Odeh’s father, Nasser, is one of those people who had to stop fishing because of the Israeli siege.
“The quail breeding project provided me with a source of income … Israeli maritime restrictions and bans on the introduction of new boats and fishing products have destroyed the fishing industry,” he said.
Even though they no longer fish, the family still faces significant challenges as a result of the ban.
“The biggest challenge is consuming electricity for over 16 hours a day, so I installed a solar energy system to reduce fuel operating costs for a discount. In addition, feed prices have risen steadily, ”said Abu Odeh.
Nasser Abu Odeh is prone to stock [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]Essential food source
Salim Nassar, a livestock trader, said the low price of quail has outpaced the demand of chicken for local buyers.
“Quail is easy to build and requires little space and rapid reproduction as well as less disease,” said Abdul Fattah Abd Rabbo, associate professor of environmental sciences at the University’s biology department. Islamic Gaza.
He said: “Its prices are low and satisfy a large section of the Gaza Strip population because they live in difficult economic conditions.”
Abd Rabbo told Al Jazeera that the young birds breed in Europe in the summer and then migrate in the autumn to Africa and Asia.
They prove to be a vital food source in the circulation where more than 68 percent of households, or about 1.3 million people, are food insecure or largely insecure, according to the UN Office. for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA.
By 2017, the PCBS reported that the poverty rate in Gaza had reached nearly 60 percent with extreme poverty at more than 42 percent.
Ibrahim Abu Odeh says it took time to learn how to raise the birds and there were some accidents [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]‘Valuable treasure’
Abdullah Jamal, 31, is a graduate in sports education from Gaza City. Unable to find work after graduating so he started hunting quail.
“At the beginning of September each year, I cast my nets in the early hours on wooden pegs on the beach and wait for our birds to catch. coming from Europe and getting tired on the coast to rest, “said Jamal.
“The bird migration season is a valuable asset to us as it is a temporary source of income for the two months of September and October.”
He says he usually catches 10 to 20 birds a day and sells them quickly, with the prices of coals getting 15-25 Israeli shekels ($ 4.50- $ 7.60) depending on their size.
“It’s a great seasonal job opportunity due to the shortage of work in the strip, and we’re really looking forward to next season,” said Jamal.
The young birds breed in Europe in the summer and then migrate in the autumn to Africa and Asia. [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]