Atayeb Al Rif (Arabic for “Rural Delights”) was established in 2002 and is the first cooperative specialized in marketing in Lebanon. The cooperative was established initially as a result of a USAID funded development program aimed at providing rural women in Lebanon with income generation opportunities. Shortly after, the program established food processing centers owned by women and that were linked to the newly formed Atayeb Al Rif Cooperative for marketing their produce.
Atayeb Al Rif is a cooperative that has worked with different donor agencies like the United Nations Organizations, Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) of the United States, other NGOs like René Moawad Foundation (RMF) and the private sector like Sukleen, as well as others. The projects were mainly to support other cooperatives namely for women empowerment, technical consultancies on food processing, development of food processing centers and production lines and provision of technical and vocational training on food processing, cottage industry and small business management relevant to agricultural cooperatives.