VOA慢速英语2021--加沙妇女用植物制作个人护理产品

Gaza Women Make Personal Care Products from Plants

For years, Palestinian farmers have exported special plants to Europe. Those plants, or herbs, are turned into high-priced cosmetics² and beauty products.

Now, however, a group of Gaza women have brought that process home. They are processing the herbs themselves and creating personal care products such as shampoo for the hair and moisturizer for the skin. The products are now sold in 50 stores in the area.

This project operates from a factory in Gaza City. All four employees are women. They use steam to draw out, or extract³, oils from the herbs. The oils are the main ingredient used to make the beauty and personal care products. The herbs they use include ones you would use for cooking: rosemary, basil, mint⁴, thyme, and chamomile. All the herbs come from farms run by women.

"When you hold the product, you feel like you are taking something from the earth - with no additives," Refqa Al-Hamalawi told Reuters news agency.

The project currently⁶ makes 17 different products, including cleansers and body wash. They sell them under the name "GG." The letters stand for "Green Gold." That is what the farmers of northern Gaza call mint.

"As women, we (are) proud of the idea and the production, an idea like in European countries," Hamalawi said.

The project is aimed at empowering women and helping⁷ the economy. It is supported financially by Australia and the global aid organization Oxfam.

While the project is small, the women involved say it has already begun to make a difference in Gaza. The unemployment rate in the territory is around 50 percent. Female unemployment is higher at 62 percent. These numbers come from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics⁸.

Dawlat Marouf is 55 years old and the mother of 12 children. She said that before she started working with the project, she struggled to make a living selling her mint and thyme in local markets. Now, she says she "wakes up every day at 5 a.m. to come to the field and prepare 40-50 (kilograms) ordered by the factory."

Marouf's daughter-in-law is named Ekhlas. She said she did not know herbs had uses outside of cooking. The project, she said, will provide "...income for our children and our families."

Narmin Al-Banna is a pharmacist who sells the products at her store. She said she likes "...these products because they are natural and have no chemicals in them." She said she tried them on many people, and many customers, and they gave her great feedback.

Words in This Story

cosmetic¹ –n. a substance that is put on the face or body to improve appearance

moisturizer –n. a substance used on the skin to keep the skin from drying out

ingredient –n. one of several materials used to make a kind of food

additive⁵ –n. something added to something else

proud –adj. to be pleased with something about something you have done, something you own or people you are connected with

customer –n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

feedback –n. helpful information or criticism that is give to someone for the purpose of improving performance or a product

1 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

2 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

3 extract   

vt.取出，提取，获得，摘录；n.摘录，提出物

参考例句：

• The article was a choice extract from her writings.这篇文章是从她的著作中摘录出来的精粹。
• We can extract oil from olive.我们可以从橄榄中榨油。

4 mint   

n.薄荷，铸币厂；vt.铸造（硬币），创造（词）等

参考例句：

• The mint makes coins.铸币厂制造硬币。
• This candy tastes of mint.这糖果有薄荷味。

5 additive   

adj.附加的；n.添加剂

参考例句：

• Colour is often an additive in foods.颜料经常是各种食物中的添加物。
• Strict safety tests are carried out on food additives.对食品添加剂进行了严格的安全检测。

6 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。