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Ramallah Friends School (RFS) student entrepreneur initiative PalOrganix was awarded “Best Product” in INJAZ Organization’s national Student Company Program Competition 2022.

The competition is the last phase of INJAZ’s entrepreneurship program for 11th-grade and university students as a form of practical training aimed at helping the students establish their own company with all of its administrative, financial, and marketing details under the direct supervision of consultants from the Palestinian private sector.  

Throughout the previous academic year 2021-2022, RFS juniors worked on establishing their project with their IB Business Administration teacher Laith Hirzallah and private sector advisor Mohamad Mushasha. 

“The most significant advantage of participating in this competition is that it gives our students, who have been studying business administration theoretically, the opportunity to apply what they learned- practically.” – Laith Hirzallah

According to INJAZ website; The participants in the program are expected to raise the company’s capital by selling shares to shareholders and by selecting a commodity or a service produced and marketed by the company. At the end of the program, the participants liquidate the company and distribute profits to the shareholders. A national competition is held between student companies in Palestine, and then a regional competition between Arab countries takes place. (https://injaz-pal.org/en)

INJAZ is an independent Palestinian organization and a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide, which was founded in 1919 with over 10 million students from 126 countries participating annually in this program.

This year, RFS students wanted to create a company that would benefit the entire community surrounding them, and the environment. Environmental stewardship is a vital part of the School’s mission and vision, and one of its’ main Quaker testimonies. That is how PalOrganix came to be.
Student Salma Tubail, a member of the PalOrganix operations team, said: “When it comes to sustainability, people like to talk, but rarely act on it. With this product [PalOrganix], we took initiative to create something capable of a direct positive impact on the world’s environment… We believe our mission to build sustainable products has merely just begun, starting locally.”
According to Nour Kamal, a student participant in the program, PalOrganix is built upon the concept of vertical farming, which is a  practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, optimizing the space needed for planting and taking advantage of small areas for planting. 

The students creatively turned their idea into reality, becoming themselves managers and employees of their own company. And inventing a product that only requires water for planting and is easy to use by all.

Salem Tannous, founder and Head of Operations (COO) of PalOrganix, said: “Starting our own company with Injaz has been an astonishing experience so far, having the privilege of applying what we learn in business class in real-life situations has prepared me significantly for my career.”