Young Syrian refugees are being forced into sex and child labor in Jordan Abdul Rahman, an eight-year-old refugee from Syria, rummages through a trash container along the side road of north Amman’s bustling Sweileh neighborhood. His sparkling green eyes stare out from his dirty, emaciated face. His bony legs appear from under torn blue trousers. […]
A former sailor, Alain Thibault knows what it means to pine after fresh water, so he designed a portable desalination device that uses the sun’s power to make fresh drinking water. What’s more, he and the rest of his team have introduced the technology to Sahara nomads, who frequently struggle to find water that isn’t […]
Build a Better Rubber, They will Come? The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will grant $100k to the inventor of the next generation condom. Condoms have been around for 400 years, with very little improvements over the last 50 years, according to Grand Challenges in Global Health, a research foundation established by the Bill and […]
While some in the United Arab Emirates insist on developing unsustainable vehicles like this solid gold mercedes car powered by biofuel, engineering students from Dubai have been hard at work designing a more modest vehicle that should be able to travel as far as 1,000 kilometers on just one liter of fuel. Ironically, the team […]
Farming is risky business in Morocco, where a 30 percent drop in precipitation since 1970 makes steady, predictable annual crop yields virtually impossible. So the World Bank was called in to help implement Plan Maroc Vert – an ambitious initiative designed to boost the country’s cereal production and create a more sustainable agricultural sector by 2020. […]
The Birdmen of Istanbul, a film by Ali Naki Tez, follows the reclusive, fascinating old men who have devoted their lives to tending Istanbul’s songbirds. The documentary opens on two old men discussing a mysterious ailment. It alienates you from your family, your work, your regular social circle, they say, before revealing the culprit: bird disease. […]
Futek is about to break ground on a new solar cell manufacturing plant in Egypt, which is expected to cost roughly USD 3 million to construct. This is the company’s third such plant in the solar-rich north African country, which combined with the others costs a total of USD 7.35 million to run. President of […]
If you told someone from the Middle East that progressive, health-conscious Americans have fallen in love with freekeh, they might raise their eyebrows in surprise or roll their eyes in utter boredom, since people in this region have enjoyed the benefits of the ancient grain said like “freak eh” for eons.
In the south of Burkina Faso, west Africa, near the border with Ghana lies a circular village called Tiébélé. Home of the Kassena people, one of the oldest ethnic groups that settled in Burkina in the 15th century. Tiébélé is known for its creative Gourounsi architecture and elaborately decorated walls.
Dubai is prone to frequent dust storms. A new solar panel dust particle remover made in Israel boosts power and cleans off dust at the same time Solar voltaic panels, which at their best only have about 25 percent efficiency for converting direct sunlight into electricity, have even less efficiency than this when dust and […]
Miriam has been covering a series of sustainable meal recipes from the Middle East region, from countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iran to help people reconnect with their local food (click the countries to get some great local recipes). We know that food industry is shaping the future of our bodies and our planet, […]
Eating at unique restaurants around the world is just one of the perks of a traveler’s life, but these experiences are always more fun when shared with our readers – especially when it involves subterranean spaces, that brought to mind these 700 year old cave homes in Iran. Thought to be up to 180,000 years […]
With the advent of modern agriculture and technology, it is no longer necessary for most people to shoot their dinner. Yet the taste for the sport of tracking and shooting an animal has persisted, and in some countries, hunting is carefully regulated to maintain a sound balance between predator and prey. Working with the local […]
We've developed a new type of structure that reflects the vast majority of sunlight, while at the same time it sends heat into that coldness, which cools manmade structures even in the day time
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building standard devised by the United States Green Building Council often comes under fire for being insufficiently rigorous – particularly for large commercial buildings. Now a new version – LEED v4 – has been established. Taking effect in November, 2013, LEED v4 incorporates four new standards designed to improve […]