Amman – Women who live near the Ajloun Nature Reserve in the north of Jordan are now using traditional recipes and local products to produce a line of biscuits and sweets that was launched at Wild Jordan this month. The sweets lines is called ‘Tasali – Jordanian Delights’ and it is the result of a project by the Royal Society for Conservation of Nature (RSCN), which was funded by the USAID/Jordan Tourism Development Project, as part of efforts to create links between local communities in tourism areas and private sector entrepreneurs to develop new local products.

Tasali – Jordanian Delights includes traditional biscuits and sweets that are handmade in Ajloun using local and natural ingredients from the area. With products such as zaatar and cheese biscuits, olive crisps and camel cookies, the selection is unique, delicious and all natural with no preservatives added. The products are nicely presented in the line’s distinctive yellow packaging that reflects the charm and nature of the area.

“We are excited by this new product line, said Chris Johnson, RSCN’s Wild Jordan Director. “It’s the first time we’ve entered the sweets and biscuit market and we want to position the product as ‘the Jordanian treat to take home’, available in all tourist outlets and duty-free shops. Turkey has its Turkish Delight, Scotland its shortbread biscuits, Syria its Pistachio sweets; now Jordan will have Tasali.”  

“The Tasali sweets line is an example of the successful results that can be achieved through partnership between local communities, the private sector and development organizations,” said Mr. Eric Johnson from USAID.

The USAID/Jordan Tourism Development Project awarded a grant to the RSCN last year to support three major RSCN projects over the course of a year. The first was an upgraded electronic management system for all RSCN offices around Jordan to enable better management of the organization’s 260 staff throughout Jordan. The second was the redevelopment of the current RSCN website to become a major promotional tool and the development of a new site for Wild Jordan. These Web sites were launched last month. The third project was to pilot the development of new products in partnership with private sector companies and entrepreneurs, of which the Tasali range is part of. The other initiative in this area that was supported by the USAID Tourism Project was the design and production of a new jewelry line in cooperation with Jordanian designer Nadia Dajani. The jewelry was inspired by the flora and fauna of the protected nature reserves of Wadi Dana and Wadi Mujib and handmade by women from the local communities in these two areas and was launched in December 2007.