Tirbespiye, officially named Al-Qahtaniyah (Arabic: القحطانية; Kurdish: Tirbespî; Syriac: ܩܒܪ̈ܐ ܚܘܪ̈ܐ, translit. Qabre Ḥewore), formerly Qubour al-Bid, is a small city in the Qamişlo Canton, in the Jazira Region of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.
Tirbespiye is an ancient city. It was historically an Assyrian city.
A population of 16,946 was recorded in the 2004 census.
Five years ago, four women founded an agricultural cooperative in Tirbespiyê. Today, forty women work there and the cooperative covers a large part of the demand for vegetables in the Northern Syrian region.
The cultivation of vegetable project in Tirbespiyê area contributes in fulfilling part of the region's need for seasonal vegetables, in addition to securing jobs for women.
North and East Syria faces serious challenges in the fight against COVID-19. 600,000 IDPs and refugees live in camps across the region, their situation already precarious without a pandemic. Ongoing attacks by Turkish forces, Turkey-backed militias, and ISIS complicate the security situation and threaten essential civilian infrastructure like water lines. According to the Rojava Information Center,
The Kurdish umbrella organisation Kongreya Star supports various cooperatives in Rojava in which women work autonomously and thus stand up for themselves and the community at the same time. There are now 16 new cooperatives in Cizîrê despite the war.
The women's cooperatives in Tirbespiyê in Northern Syria are working on building alternatives despite the permanent threat of war and have meanwhile become examples of collective forms of work.
Al-Raed Co-operative in Tirbespiye is specialised in making guest lounges with harmonious designs and colours. It was formed a year ago, and it has five members, each of whom paid 700,000 SYP [around £1,080]. The Centre for Co-operative Societies has donated 1,5000,000 SYP for the project.
After the economic success of agricultural co-operatives in the last few years, 20 women from Tirbespiye formed a co-operative called Rojava Wheat Spikes Agricultural Co-operative. The Economic Committee was so impressed they decided to give full support to the emerging co-operative. The co-op will cultivate 1,330 dunam (decares) of agricultural land. The women have already started cultivating wheat on 800 dunams.
