The Red Carnation Hotel Collection is a proud member of The Travel Corporation (TTC), founded by the Tollman family. Principal to TTC's family of brands is the support of the TreadRight Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation united by the Tollmans’ passion to make our travels around the globe count for something.

TreadRight recently began working with the Iraq al-Amir Women’s Cooperative. Explorer Céline Cousteau travelled to spectacular Jordan to find out more about the cooperative and its important work…

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Céline was joined by a group of influential storytellers on a journey of exploration and discovery. The central goal of their trip was to gain a greater appreciation for and understanding of the Iraq al-Amir Women’s Cooperative’s future goals, as well as the struggles they might face as they look to achieve them.

Unemployment for women in Jordan is at around 33% in urban areas and even higher than that in rural areas. The cooperative was founded in 1993 with the goal of making the women in the region financially independent, as well as raise their standard of living by increasing their income and preserving local heritage.

Managed and run by local women, Iraq al-Amir has provided training projects on a variety of heritage handicrafts for more than 150 women from all villages of the Wadi Seer district of Jordan. The products are then also sold in the gift shop, as well as online.

'As an organisation and with the support of the TTC family of brands, we are working to make travel matter. The Iraq al-Amir Women’s Cooperative is a perfect example of the kind of initiative that can harness the power of travel and tourism and use it to make real, sustainable positive changes in people’s lives,' says Shannon Guihan, Program Director, The TreadRight Foundation.

'It was a privilege to be so warmly welcomed at the cooperative and to hear the women’s incredible and powerful stories of lives transformed for the better through Iraq al-Amir. Now TTC has the honour of introducing our audiences to those stories through our new video and by taking guests to visit the cooperative in Jordan.'