By Yasser Alhaj | Project Director
Dear Karama Supporter!
This new report will update you on the latest developments in Karama's rooftop gardens project, that continues to bring fresh produce to tens of families in refugee camps in Palestine. On the flat roofs of several houses, Karama placed a construction of tubes with soil and an innovative irrigation system. Through learning-by-doing and by exchanging with each other, the women involved were able to let their gardens flourish and supplement their families diet with fresh peppers, tomatoes, courgette, beans, onions and fruits. Now we are preparing for the winter season, we are urgently seeking a small amount of funds to help two families make their gardens better protected!
With this initiative Karama is continuously committed to make our community aware of the importance of our environment and healthy food. Care for nature and attention for the benefits of organic nutrition are important values this project aims to communicate. Financial difficulties and the daily struggles under occupation make families with young children often ignore the importance of a healthy diet. While sugary candies are plenty available at a cheap price, the prices of daily essentials like vegetables and fruit have risen significantly in the last year, making a healthy diet not a high priority for most families. But the attention this project gave and still gives to growing fresh vegetables made people in the community again aware of the importance of a healthy and nutritional diet.
Additionally the gardens have many benefits for the women and children involved, who were able to release some of the tension and stress through agricultural activities. Several women stated they very much enjoy to spend time in their gardens, because it gives them a feeling of usefulness and self-worth again. Seeing the plants grow, produce a tasteful harvest and benefit their children has contributed to a more positive outlook on life. “For me it’s a place of calmness and happiness”, says one of the participants, “and after seeing the daily progress the plants up here make, I hope to transfer this new positivity inside me to my children”.
This project is taking root at a time when many independent sources stress how the Israeli occupation continues to burden the daily lives of all Palestinians. A new report released this week by the World Bank stressed again how much the development of our agricultural sector is limited by the Israeli restrictions, meaning a loss of millions of income every year. (See link below for report) Especially the Israeli control of Area C, which represents 61% of the West Bank and contains important natural resources, prohibits the Palestinians from working on their land and generating income from e.g. agriculture and mining. The inhabitants of the refugee camps lost access to agricultural land as well, while many used to find income or employment in this sector. They are currently threatened by no stable source of income but it is clear innovate agriculture does offer opportunities in the camps as well. To rise above this situation we can use the tools and resources we have right now to strive to be more self-supportive and become less dependent on aid from the UNRWA and others. This project helps to attain this both practically and by appealing to the outlook of the people involved.
After the summer, Karama is now arranging for the winter season and we still need all the support you can give! Currently the gardens are being prepared to plant the winter vegetables and some gardens are in need of small maintenance. The last months showed a few gardens were too little protected against the wind from between the houses and need extra support to protect the plants. Though several families are able to invent and construct some adjustment themselves, two families are currently practically unable to make these alterations. Karama therefore already agreed to help construct a wooden “cage” around the frame with tubes, in order to project the plastic cover while still allowing the sun to reach the plants. As we are currently working on this, donations are very much needed to help these two families prepare for the winter season! A small contribution could already help to purchase the needed materials.
Moreover, Karama continues to look for ways to expand this idea to more refugee families so many more can use their own skills to support themselves. Several more women are waiting to get introduced to the work of gardening and we hope to welcome them in our project soon. With your donation this could be possible! Do not hesitate to reach out to us and we wish to thank you very much for the support you continue to give!!
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
