On Thursday and Friday, the Histadrut and Bank Hapoalim will hold a farmer’s market of products and businesses from the south of the country and the Gaza Envelope region, in Sarona Market Center in Tel Aviv.
The event is expected to include dozens of stalls featuring the best goods of the South of Israel, featuring local eateries, agricultural crops, boutique local breweries, hand-crafted home goods, toiletries, flowers, shirts with local designs, ceramics, herbal candles and more.
The local businesses include "Peace Flowers," a family business run by Bar, Smadar and Haim from Moshav Ohad in the Gaza envelope. This year, their business dealt with the stoppage of exports to the flower market in the Netherlands due to pandemic and also as a consequence of the recent escalation with Hamas.
The fair will also include natural hygienic products from the Jojoba Hatzerim company, as well as handmade boutique candles, organic vegetables, and herbal products from the "Light Youths Association,” which employs at-risk youth in Ashkelon.
The event will take place between from 10 a.m to 11 p.m on Thursday, and from 9 a.m to 4 p.m on Friday at the Sarona Market complex in Tel Aviv. Event attendees will be able to pay for products easily with no need for cash, using the Bit app instead.
"Small businesses are the mainstay of the Israeli economy. Business owners have faced very complex business and operational challenges this year,” said Ofir Ohana, Director of Retail Banking at Bank Hapoalim. “The period of fighting in the south caused local businesses to halt the process of returning to routine, which characterized the recent period at the end of the corona crisis in Israel.”
“Along with the variety of financial solutions we offer to return to business as usual, we have seen fit to expand support to include collaborations for the benefit of businesses in the South,” Ohana continued. “Our collaboration with Sarona Market, the Histadrut and the Self Employed Forum is an important and exciting venture designed to support businesses in the south, from Ashdod, Ashkelon and the Gaza Envelope. I invite everyone to come to the fair, have fun, buy and support these businesses."
Rami Beja, Chairman of the Self EmployedForum at the Histadrut, made the following statement: "The Daroma Market project is another important step in the recovery of businesses in thine South, which have faced a difficult security period. The Self Employed Forum has set itself the goal of promoting small businesses in every way, providing them with an occupational safety net and promoting the Unemployment Benefit Law for the Self-Employed.”
“There are many businesses that have not yet recovered from the hardships of the last year during coronavirus, and we will take a central part in any initiative that supports and embraces business owners,” he continued. “We will continue to fight and promote the rights of business owners and support them in every way.”
