By Yasser and volunteers | Director
Before the real heat started in Palestine, the rooftop gardens were at their peak of the year. Every day the women spent some of their time watering, harvesting and enjoying their gardens. The main water tap was regularly turned on this summer to fill up the storage tanks of the women (which happens practically at the mercy of the Occupation authorities). Thus most people did not experience any real shortage of water - though all were trying to be as careful as possible. Most women could harvest enough tomatoes, beans, aubergine, cucumbers and herbs to feed their family. Some even shared their produce, especially tomatoes and beans which were doing well this season. During this time, several people from outside our community came to visit Karama in Deheishe, to learn about our rooftops and see how small ideas make a positive contribution to the families' lives. Some of them were journalists who published an article or photo story in international media after their visit.
When international visitors come over, we always try to arrange for them to meet the women that are leading this project. This creates an interesting space for the women to share some of their struggles and their ways of dealing with those challenges. One of the journalists was Siliva, who visited a garden build with support from Karama on the roof of Um Shadi. When Silvia visited Um Shadi's house, even her husband jumped in to speak loftly about the garden and its benefits for the family. Um Shadi's whole family, including their three children enjoy being in the garden and seeing the plants grow. They also use the space to relax in the evenings when the tempature goes down to a comfortable level. "To follow nature’s pace and see the changes happening under your eyes is quite impressive. If this garden didn’t benefit us, I would have taken it down a long time ago and added some deck chairs instead,” Abu Shadi adds, laughing.
Especially the pictures from Eloise and Silvia are really worth seeing, so we will share with you the links below.
Thank you for being part of this initiative that supports the women in Deheishe Refugee Camp!
Links:
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