A Unique Venue for Promoting the Concept that “Protecting Jordan’s Natural Heritage is Good for Both People and nature”

Challenge

As a country without an abundance of natural resources, Jordan must utilize its human assets and limited natural resources in the most effective manner to drive the economy. Many remote Jordanian communities rely on the nature-based employment opportunities and crafts. Many times however, these communities fail to promote or market the crafts, thereby reducing potential employment. Therefore, there was an extreme need to better market these products through a cleverly integrated center offering a variety of services.

Initiative

USAID funded the establishment of the “Wild Jordan Center,” which was officially opened in July 2004 by Queen Rania. This Center is devoted to creating nature-based employment opportunities for poor rural communities through a large nature store that stocks a wide range of crafts and nature-based products. Also featured are a whole food café, environmental internet, a tourist information point, a conference room, and training facilities to attract visitors.

“Wild Jordan is not just another craft shop or café. It’s a one-stop nature experience offering a range of services and entertainments, all of which promote a single concept: that protecting Jordan’s natural heritage is good for nature and good for people.” - Chris Johnson, Project Manager, Jordan.

Results

	Wild Jordan promotes nature-based employment and handcrafts by displaying these products in a beautiful environment that attracts Jordanians and tourists.

Reactions to the Center have been extremely positive. Shop sales of local community handicrafts have more than doubled and enquiries and bookings for eco-tourism are back to pre-9/11 levels. The Wild Jordan Café is already well established on the Amman “scene” and attracts a wide range of customers. Overall, the Center is supporting hundreds of jobs and making sustainable development in Jordan a tangible reality. And for international conservation organizations like the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Birdlife International, which have visited the Center, it is regarded as a model of integrated conservation and development that the world should follow.