Sustainable Travel in Jordan: Visit the Iraq Al-Amir Women's Cooperative

Preserve cultures, impact women’s lives on Insight Vacations journey to Israel and Jordan

While tourism to Israel has increased dramatically, travelers can positively change the communities they visit through ecotourism. According to recent statistics, Israel surpassed 1 million tourists from North America and 4 million globally in 2018, breaking all previous records.

This enormous amount of foot traffic opens an opportunity for guests to make travel matter, such as immersing themselves into humanitarian experiences with Insight Vacations.

In partnership with the not-for-profit TreadRight Foundation, Insight Vacations highlights the power of impactful tourism on local communities they visit across the globe.

While embarking on Insight’s Israel and Jordan trip, guests have the incredible opportunity to visitthe Iraq Al-Amir Women’s Cooperative to experience firsthand the preservation of local heritage in Jordan.

The Iraq Al Amir Women’s Cooperative aims to make the women in the area financially independent and to raise their standard of living by increasing their income and preserving their culture. The Cooperative has employed more than 150 women since it opened its doors in 2003. A grant from the TreadRight Foundation helps the organization have the necessary materials on hand, complete a build-out of their gift shop, provide merchandising expertise, and allow the group to expand their food services–which creates more income opportunities for the cooperative’s members.

As with all Insight journeys, throughout these trips guests stay in elegant hotels in central locations,dine at distinctive local restaurants, with all the logistical details are taken care of by an expertly trained Travel Director. Along the way, guests will see some of Jordan’s most spectacular sights, such as the earliest surviving map of the Holy land in Madaba, the hidden ‘rose-red’ city of Petra, the majestic desert of Wadi Rum, the ancient ruins of Shobak Castle and the most beautifully preserved Greco-Roman city of Jerash.

During you visit to the city of Amman, you’ll spend time with the Iraq al Amir women and truly feel welcomed into the cooperative by experimenting in pottery making, cooking together and sharing meals. There’s an art to communicating despite little common language – and the women at Iraq al Amir are masters of it. You’ll also see the fantastic work the Women’s Association are doing to provide training and work opportunities on a variety of handicrafts for women in the region.

Like many of Treadright Foundation’s sustainability projects, the Iraq al Amir women’s cooperation is an example of the good that tourism can do. Insight Vacations is a firm believer in the ability of travel to bring a greater connection between people and their cultures. Guests who visit the Iraq al Amir centre – which is run entirely by women – will have an experience filled with warmth, hospitality and welcome.

“As an organization and with the support of the TTC family of brands, we are working to make travel matter. The Iraq al-Amir Women’s Cooperative is a perfect example of the kind of initiative that can harness the power of travel and tourism and use it to make real, sustainable positive changes in people’s lives,” says Shannon Guihan, Program Director for the TreadRight Foundation. “It’s a privilege for guests to feel so warmly welcomed at the cooperative and to hear the women’s incredible and powerful stories of lives transformed for the better through Iraq al-Amir.”

Click below to watch full video of Insight Vacations journey to Iraq al Amir