The project

SAEP: Syrian Artisan Entrepreneurship Project

The project aims at identifying the resilience of the Syrian refugee artisans residing in Jordan by:

  • Exploring the entrepreneurial innovation and creativity in organising this industry within the Jordanian informal economy.
  • Exploring the impact of the cultural appropriation of the Syrian cultural heritage arts and crafts, on the refugee Syrian community as well as the host nation of Jordan.
  • Exploring the gendering of this sector, and its impact on the Syrian refugee community and the receiving host nation of Jordan.
  • Offering a social enterprise training programme for the refugee Syrian artisans, comprising a five day group training programme, and eight hours of individual mentoring sessions.


SAEP Image 1

To achieve these aims, the project comprises the following process and components:

Stage 1:

  • Focus group discussions with key stakeholders from agencies supporting Syrian refugees in Jordan to engage them in the design of the ensuing project and conduct.
  • Individual semi-structured interviews with Syrian refugee artisans residing in Jordan, and running their own traditional Syrian art workshops.

Stage 2:

  • The development and delivery of a social enterprise training the trainers programme in Plymouth (United Kingdom) for six members of our Jordanian project partner institutions.
  • The delivery of a social enterprise creation programme in Jordan to 20 of the Syrian refugee artisans who participated in this project’s Stage 1. They will also receive eight hours of mentoring, delivered by expert entrepreneurial artisans.
  • At the end of the project, the overall results and recommendations will be shared in two ways. Firstly, through a key stakeholder dissemination event focusing on research, practice and policy development for refugee populations and cultural conservation. Secondly, the project report will be made available in Arabic and English through this website, and will be shared with agencies working with refugees in different parts of the world, to inform and contribute to the development of relevant guidance, strategies, and policies.