Phase one of the home gardening project has come to an end. An end to the preparations, trainings, discussions, and handouts. In a matter of months, Save Gaza has accomplished what it set out to accomplish.
Now, Palestinians are being tested. The difference this time is that the end result will be empowering and liberating. A small community of women have been given an opportunity to challenge their environment. With just a few seeds and chickens, we will watch the home gardens flourish into something beyond the Israeli occupation. No amount of bullets, rockets, F-16s, sonic booms, can take away from these women the strength they find in their gardens.
Never will we see or read in the news, this strength. Instead we will be masked with the images of violence and terror, but that's ok. The less publicity they get the better. The easier it will be then to divest and silently break the cycle of dependency.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
It doesnt end here...
I had not realized that a small, grassroots project could be so needed and helpful. In the midst of preparing to implement this project, with running errands, filling out mundane paperwork and beating the political bureaucracy of transferring money to Gaza, I lost sight of who it was really for. But in the last couple of days I saw the faces of the women who had made it all worthwhile and I was reminded of how important this project was. Save Gaza was not here to "save gaza". We were simply providing the means and tools by which to empower these women. We are not yet another organization operating in Gaza and giving handouts which last a few months, and even now, those have become limited. I realized this as I sat through the training. It dawned on me how important it was for us as a people, as Palestinians, to become self-reliant and how important that was for our sovereignty and independence.
During the training we discussed the importance of being able to provide for ourselves, especially with Gaza's economic decline. We were now doing just that by growing our own food. The markets are getting emptier, and even for what's available, most people cannot afford the high prices of flour, oil and vegetables. The women of Kherbit Al Addas knew this, as most of them break their fast with some fried eggplant, some hummas (chickpeas) with bread and onions. They were well aware they cannot afford to buy the vegetables from the market, so they saw the importance and necessity in growing their own gardens. We discussed health, nutrition, children's mal-nutrition, and preventable health problems. The training had turned into a larger discussion. The women were very engaging and wanted to share their experiences with gardening and farming. I also felt it was important for them to speak because I wanted them to feel safe and comfortable in the space we were in.
Everything we bought, including the plants, seedlings and the chickens for the project were local. It was important for the project to empower everyone involved, including the farmer who sold us the chickens. It was also important for us not to purchase any Israeli made products introducing the concept of divestment which was also discussed with the women. The point being made showed how buying local products will allow Gaza's economy to flourish, even on a small scale. The women already knew this, and knew that these gardens meant more than just health, and nutrition, but were also part of the resistance movement. Divesting from your occupier is a form of resistance, and therefore growing their own food and mobilizing their communities towards this is resisting the Israeli occupation.
I had to come to Gaza and see these women to realize how much a small project, with such a small budget could mean so much more, and could carry all this meaning. We had provided 20 families with vegetable plants and chickens and a three day training on how to care for them......But what really left me in awe, was the power of these women to take these tools, and their willingness to provide for themselves and their families, and not rely on foreign aid or Israeli products. It was their poor conditions, but hope for something better, no matter what obstacles stood in their way. It was their resistance to allowing Israel or the Israeli occupation to break them and their communities. The very people I hoped to empower had inspired me. It wasn't just about the gardens; it was about a community, about Gaza, about Palestine, and about our independence.
The project does not end here.....there is no end to sustainability.
During the training we discussed the importance of being able to provide for ourselves, especially with Gaza's economic decline. We were now doing just that by growing our own food. The markets are getting emptier, and even for what's available, most people cannot afford the high prices of flour, oil and vegetables. The women of Kherbit Al Addas knew this, as most of them break their fast with some fried eggplant, some hummas (chickpeas) with bread and onions. They were well aware they cannot afford to buy the vegetables from the market, so they saw the importance and necessity in growing their own gardens. We discussed health, nutrition, children's mal-nutrition, and preventable health problems. The training had turned into a larger discussion. The women were very engaging and wanted to share their experiences with gardening and farming. I also felt it was important for them to speak because I wanted them to feel safe and comfortable in the space we were in.
Everything we bought, including the plants, seedlings and the chickens for the project were local. It was important for the project to empower everyone involved, including the farmer who sold us the chickens. It was also important for us not to purchase any Israeli made products introducing the concept of divestment which was also discussed with the women. The point being made showed how buying local products will allow Gaza's economy to flourish, even on a small scale. The women already knew this, and knew that these gardens meant more than just health, and nutrition, but were also part of the resistance movement. Divesting from your occupier is a form of resistance, and therefore growing their own food and mobilizing their communities towards this is resisting the Israeli occupation.
I had to come to Gaza and see these women to realize how much a small project, with such a small budget could mean so much more, and could carry all this meaning. We had provided 20 families with vegetable plants and chickens and a three day training on how to care for them......But what really left me in awe, was the power of these women to take these tools, and their willingness to provide for themselves and their families, and not rely on foreign aid or Israeli products. It was their poor conditions, but hope for something better, no matter what obstacles stood in their way. It was their resistance to allowing Israel or the Israeli occupation to break them and their communities. The very people I hoped to empower had inspired me. It wasn't just about the gardens; it was about a community, about Gaza, about Palestine, and about our independence.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
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Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Distributing Plants and Chickens-Day 3
More photos to come....including the chickens :)
Hanan bagging some plants, there were three kinds of plants
and the rest were seedlings.
Hanan bagging some plants, there were three kinds of plants
and the rest were seedlings.
Training Day 2
Second trainer Jamal, also agricultural engineer.
Ahlam, Director of the Women's Rural Organization whose
space was used for the training.
Sara, Amani, Hanna & Fatima
Monday, October 1, 2007
Training Day 1
Basil, one of the trainers. He's an Agricultural Engineer
Hanan, one of the 20 women, sharing with the group old
methods of composting passed down from her father.
The entire group
Home Gardens Update
On Oct. 1, we began training 20 women from Khirbet Al Adas, a small village in northeast Rafah, the start of our long awaited Home Gardening Project. Its a small community of Bedioun refugees who were exiled from mostly Beir Sheba in 1948. Most of the men in the village worked in Israel as construction workers, but in 2000 they lost their jobs with the beginning of the Intifada. Most are unemployed, adding to Gaza's growing 60% unemployment rate, and like everyone else do little jobs here and there, but mostly rely on UNRWA's food hand outs which come out every 3 months. Handouts mostly consist of dry milk, flour, sugar and dried lentils, but are never enough to feed the family especially when most of Gaza's families average 8-10 children.
This particular community was chosen for several reasons. The main one being that the area is somewhat isolated and therefore neglected. Located on the Gaza's easter border with Israel they do not have access to the rest of Rafah and therefore are indirectly neglected by UNWRA and other international organizations. These agencies shy away from such communities because of the risk involved in getting so close to the border. A border that belongs to one people, but controlled by another. Additionally, the Bedouin communities tend to be forgotten about or ostracized by most.
The second reason as to why the community of Khirbet Al Adas was chosen is because there is no infrustructure as compared to the rest of Rafah. Most of the houses are two bedroom asbestos infested homes, with more than ten people living in them, between dirt roads and cactus trees with very little space to spare.
And the final reason, and probably the most important we chose this community is because they have a space for, but cannot afford to invest in a garden. In the past, most of these families have been denied help from agricultural organizations because their gardening space was too small for farming, so they would not qualify to receive any sort of help in starting these gardens. There are two farming/agriculture categories in Gaza, two extremes, urban agriculture and large scale farming. Urban agriculture refers to roof top gardening which is what most of Gazans do because of limited space in and around their homes. And then there is large scale farming, which is mostly done with large pieces of land, mostly in norther Gaza such as Biet Hanoun and Biet Lahiya. The community of Kherbit Al Addas falls in between these categories. Most of the families there do not have large pieces of land for large scale farming, but also don't have the roves for urban-roof top gardening, but do have a small space of 100 metes or less in or around their homes.
This is why this project is unique, while simple and small scale, it serves those families who have the space for a garden, but not the means to start growing it. We are merely planting a seed for sustainable development, but also self sufficiency so that these families can benefit from these gardens in providing for themselves and their families.
And with this we began on Oct. 1 our training and on Oct. 3 the 20 women will begin gardening. We will continue to update you with pictures and thank you for your support. We have come a long way, despite the many challenges of working in Gaza, especially in the recent months, and would not have done it without your support and help.
This particular community was chosen for several reasons. The main one being that the area is somewhat isolated and therefore neglected. Located on the Gaza's easter border with Israel they do not have access to the rest of Rafah and therefore are indirectly neglected by UNWRA and other international organizations. These agencies shy away from such communities because of the risk involved in getting so close to the border. A border that belongs to one people, but controlled by another. Additionally, the Bedouin communities tend to be forgotten about or ostracized by most.
The second reason as to why the community of Khirbet Al Adas was chosen is because there is no infrustructure as compared to the rest of Rafah. Most of the houses are two bedroom asbestos infested homes, with more than ten people living in them, between dirt roads and cactus trees with very little space to spare.
And the final reason, and probably the most important we chose this community is because they have a space for, but cannot afford to invest in a garden. In the past, most of these families have been denied help from agricultural organizations because their gardening space was too small for farming, so they would not qualify to receive any sort of help in starting these gardens. There are two farming/agriculture categories in Gaza, two extremes, urban agriculture and large scale farming. Urban agriculture refers to roof top gardening which is what most of Gazans do because of limited space in and around their homes. And then there is large scale farming, which is mostly done with large pieces of land, mostly in norther Gaza such as Biet Hanoun and Biet Lahiya. The community of Kherbit Al Addas falls in between these categories. Most of the families there do not have large pieces of land for large scale farming, but also don't have the roves for urban-roof top gardening, but do have a small space of 100 metes or less in or around their homes.
This is why this project is unique, while simple and small scale, it serves those families who have the space for a garden, but not the means to start growing it. We are merely planting a seed for sustainable development, but also self sufficiency so that these families can benefit from these gardens in providing for themselves and their families.
And with this we began on Oct. 1 our training and on Oct. 3 the 20 women will begin gardening. We will continue to update you with pictures and thank you for your support. We have come a long way, despite the many challenges of working in Gaza, especially in the recent months, and would not have done it without your support and help.
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