Ahmad Al-Saudi, 25, had always dreamed of building an environmental tourist camp in Tafileh. Although the plans and studies of this project were almost ready in 2007, he couldn’t achieve his dream. That was until a year ago, when he heard about the project “Promoting Local Economic Development in Jordan” (PLEDJ) funded by the European Union in Jordan & implemented by the UNDP, which helped him realise his vision and create Ein Lahtha Camp.

Everything changed for Ahmad when he saw an ad targeting locals looking to establish businesses in the tourism sector. He decided to prepare his pitch and just applied. The idea was accepted and Ahmad joined the professional training that PLEDJ gave to all the participants as part of the EU funded project.

“Getting the grant’s money was important to set up the camp of course, but the training that was provided by PLEDJ helped to shape our ideas and accelerate their execution,” he explains.

The camp has 10 tents that act like chalets where visitors can spend the night in addition to a small building where Ahmad and his staff prepare food and other services and a big beautiful tent for entertaining visitors with authentic Bedouin food, drinks and scenery.

The camp provides job opportunities for young Jordanians while supporting local providers by buying supplies for the camp that can host up to 100 people at a time.

The EU-funded PLEDJ programme aims at fostering two sectors in the governorates of Ajloun and Tafileh: small-scale food processing and tourism services.

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EU Delegation to Jordan