It's been 11 days since I landed in Jordan and I can't wait for the adventures I am about to undertake.
I'm loving my time in Jordan so far - the people are amazing, the food is delicious, and the sights are breathtaking.
I've started my role in Amman with MEDA as a Communications and Gender Equality Intern with the Jordan Valley Links (JVL) project, and it's been a blast so far. I wanted so long to post this because I wanted to include my first field visit in my post.
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to spend in the day in the middle of the desert at the Feynan Eco Lodge. The JVL project aims to empower 25,000 women and youth through economic development. The Eco Lodge location is part of a community based tourism initiative. Community based tourism provides a useful source of income, and supports communities financially in various roles such as guides, homestay hosts, or handicraft producers.
The Eco Lodge is lit at night by candles and during the day by natural sunlight. The lodge originally had no real source of power so part of the project as been to install solar panels to install fans for the very hot months of the summer. The lodge employs local women to make all the candles for the hotel and employs the local community to provide people who stay in the lodge with a real desert life experience.
The staff at the lodge are welcoming and warm people who really took care of us and the visitors who were there.
I hope that while I am here in Jordan I can stay there and take advantage of the activities the lodge has to offer.
The Jordan Valley is beautiful and I am so excited to continue exploring it for the next 6 months.
