Senior Researcher - Food Sovereignty & Solidarity Economies

About Jibal 

Jibal is a non-governmental organization leading environmental and social justice activities in Lebanon. We envision a society centered on principles of reciprocity, recognition, and equitable redistribution. Jibal was founded in December 2017 in Beirut (it received government final approval in January 2019), by Angela Saadé (ME Energy Engineering and MS Anthropology) and Ounsi El Daif (PhD in physics). At its foundation, Jibal’s work merged  the work conducted in Lebanon by two international  organisations: Eedama (UAE based sustainability training and consultancy agency, founded in 2015 by Ounsi El Daif, and working in Lebanon from 2015 to 2017) and Tabadol (French NGO, founded by Angela Saade in 2008 and working in Lebanon from 2009  to 2017). 

Since its start, Jibal works on the topic of food through different types of actions:

• The support of a group of farmers in the Bekaa to implement a collaborative system in their work. This project has been implemented in collaboration with Buzuruna Juzuruna Farm in Saadnayel.
• The development of a network of farmers who work under regenerative agriculture methodologies. This network aims at creating bridges and support between several actors in Lebanon.
• Educational activities for kids on topics related to food sovereignty.
• In 2021, the NGO will be supporting 75 farmers to switch to sustainable farming methods.
• In 2021, the NGO will support the development of a direct sale market in Borj Hammoud or Quarantina area. 

Jibal collaborates with a number of NGOs, companies and cooperatives for its various programmes such as: Les racines du ciel, Buzuruna Juzuruna, Field to fork, Ras Maska Gardens, Soils Permaculture Association, Samen Eco Gardens, Live Love Recycle, and Compost Baladi. 

Scope of Work

The scope of work includes the following tasks that will be conducted in close collaboration with the research coordinator/assistant:

• Setting methodology for research report
• Conducting desk review of alternative food system models and solidarity economy models in multiple contexts
• Analysis of data collected
• Supporting the writing and review of research report
• Participating in the collection of field data via interviews (15 interviews in total)
• Conducting between three to four meetings with Jibal team members working on food sovereignty initiatives (during research preparation, initial results, and final results)

Deliverables

• Research document including analysis and main results
• Recommendations at policy level and practical/action level.
• Dissemination plan for the research results

Required qualifications of collaborator

• Proven experience in research work on agriculture, food systems, food sovereignty, or similar.

• A Master’s Degree in the relevant field and/or substantial experience in Lebanon’s agricultural and food sector.

• Strong English writing skills.

• Ability to conduct interviews in Arabic.

Time Allocation

• Number of days: 15
• Period of work: until the end of May
• Note: Research assistant will allocate 10 days to support in methodology development, data collection, and editing.

Please see attached TOR.