Understanding Organic Mattress Labels
Is it bamboo, cotton, sustainably harvested, organically grown? Know your labels when you buy a new mattress
organic farming
Getting cadmium out of my chocolate through the roots
Simran Sethi is a writer and activist who writes about protecting food we love like chocolate and wine. Scientists too are working to food we love safer through more sustainable agricultural practices.
Ancient farm in Spain gets UN recognition
The UN recognizes the importance of ancient Spanish farming techniques. With climates similar to the Levant and influenced by North Africa, there is so much the Middle East can learn from Spain.
Palestinians cultivate the West Bank’s first organic mushrooms!
It’s been weeks since a Palestinian vegetable vendor from the West Bank town of Jericho last imported mushrooms, selling instead homegrown organic ‘shrooms grown for the first time in the West Bank. Amoro Mushroom Farm in Jericho – the first farm in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to commercially produce white mushrooms – is emerging as a […]
A $9000 dome home for early retirement in Thailand
A former flight attendant has grounded himself in Thailand in a masonry dome-home he built in just six weeks. The 500 square foot structure is simply constructed much like a tropical igloo, with cement blocks stepping in for ice bricks. The best part? It cost under $10,000!
Abu Dhabi Social Responsibility Firm Plans Organic Farm in Ghana
While many companies in the Middle East are grabbing land throughout Africa to buffer resource scarcity, Abu Dhabi-based firm Nahtam has plans to plant an organic farm in Ghana to offset carbon and create jobs.
Organic Farming Boom in Palestine
A back-to-the-land movement is blossoming in the Palestinian Authority, the United Nation’s newest nonmember observer state. “The Palestinian future is in the land.” Farmer Khader Khader said, standing in his organic olive grove in the northern West Bank village of Nus Jubail. Many Palestinian farmers are switching to organic farming methods, and selling their oil to […]
An Organic Farm Springs Up in Sinai
The Wadi Marawan Organic Farm is a new project by the ‘Best Friends Safari’ that guides tour groups in Egypt Located at the terraces of Panorama Mountain Camp, the Wadi Marawan Organic Farm is a veritable paradise in the middle of the Sinai Peninsula. Over 4,000 sq. metres of land is planted with vegetables and […]
Egypt’s Taziry Ecolodge and the Golden Age
The golden age is undergoing a quiet revival at the edge of Egypt’s western desert thanks to the Taziry eco-lodge. So much more than just a holiday destination, this peaceful resort located roughly 752 km west of Cairo at the footstep of Siwa’s Red Mountain (Adrar Azugagh) runs a camel and Arabian horse-breeding program as […]
SpiderNet’s Artificial Spider Web Protects Crops from Tiny Pests
What would Charlotte the spider think of this man-made SpiderNet? An Israeli made artificial spider web made to protect crops from insect pests will be one of the showcased products at Israel’s Agritech 2012 exhibit. Made from a special weave of micro-fibers, this new netting called SpiderNet is woven to catch insects in the field, […]
Rooftop Hydroponic Farms in Egypt Scrub the Air and Uplift Urban Poor
Urban farming in Egypt has soared. Read about Schaduf – a soilless solution taking root in Maadi. Two Egyptian brothers have received enough donations to set up three rooftop farms in Maadi – a once wealthy suburb of Cairo. Due for full installation by April, these won’t be any old farms. Sherif and Tarek Hosny […]
Sustainable Bedouin Farm, Wadi Attir, To Break Ground in the Negev
After years of planning, a Bedouin eco-farm in the Negev will finally get under way next week. For years the Sustainability Laboratories (a New York-based organization) and the mayor of Hura in the Negev, Dr. Muhammad El-Nabari, have been planning an eco-farm for the Bedouin community. The farm, Project Wadi Attir, would aim to create […]
Locavore, Shmocavore – Just Call Me an Ecotarian
Is the eco-friendly food movement getting even more complicated, or are ecotarians simplifying matters? The green movement is riddled with a lot of food ideologies. When it comes to food, there are a lot of environmental issues to consider: locavores protest the pollution stemming from the transport of food from far away, vegetarians (and vegawarians) […]
Liveinslums Brings Food to Life in Cairo’s City of the Dead
The City of the Dead in Cairo isn’t known for its fertile soil, but Liveinslums is working to change that with an awesome mini urban farming initiative. Although everybody seems to understand that population growth is exploding, and that space – particularly in cities – comes at a premium, the extent of our vulnerability to […]
Spend Sukkot Learning How to Eat the Ancient Way at Bel Ofri in the Golan
During the Sukkot holiday, visitors will be able to learn how to make olive oil, sweet wine, bread and cheeses the old fashioned way. Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival, is a time when Jews attempt to get closer to nature. They live in make-shift huts covered with thatched roofs, sleep outdoors, and celebrate fruits of […]
Egyptian Organic Farm Declared Sustainability World Leader
SEKEM, an Egyptian organic farming community has been chosen as one of 16 ‘Sustainability Champions’ in the developing world which are tackling environmental and social problems A recent report by the World Economic Forum has identified 16 successful companies from as far afield as Costa Rica and China which have shown great environmental awareness and […]
Invitation for a Permaculture Tour in Israel
See how permaculture is spreading across Israel during an international tour at the end of September. Permaculture, or the sustainable use of land and agriculture, has thankfully been spreading across the Middle East in recent years. Permaculture farms have sprouted seeds in Palestine, grassroots permaculture initiatives have popped up in urban settings such as Jerusalem, […]
CEO Of Organic Foods Company In Dubai Calls Local Farming “Stupid”
The CEO of a Dubai-based company says growing organic food in the UAE is “stupid.” No one would ever expect an organic food distributor to favor importing food to locally-grown produce, except in the Middle East. Despite efforts from people like Baker & Spice’s Yael Mejia, who is working furiously to improve the quality of […]
Jordan’s Tribes Criticize Enviro Queen Rania
Queen Rania is the latest Middle Eastern elite to receive criticism from dissenting citizens. Like their Yemeni compatriots currently marching towards the presidential palace in Samaa, taking their cue and courage from jubilant Egyptians, thirty-six tribal leaders submitted a collective criticism of Jordan’s Queen Rania, according to an AFP report. Of Palestinian origin and born […]
Canaan Fair Trade Creates Sustainable Community of Palestinian Farmers
Bigger isn’t always better. Canaan Fair Trade helps small-scale Palestinian farmers survive and thrive. With the modernization of agriculture, farming has become an industry instead of a small-scale, community effort. All over the world, small-scale farmers who have retained traditional (and many times organic) methods of agriculture have been pushed out by larger, industrial farms. […]
Egypt’s Organic Sector To Get First World Regulations
New regulations in Egypt will prevent from fraudsters from falsifying inorganic food. Organic agriculture is not so widespread in the Middle East. There are certain places in Israel that belong to the WWOOFing network, while Dubai creeps along with farms that unfortunately rely on desalination for their water. Turkey too is heading in that direction, […]
Farmer’s Notebook: Raising Goats Humanely in Outback Israel
Green Prophet’s new writer Rebecca shares her personal experience raising 5 female goats. She shares an easy goat cheese recipe too! The first goats arrived to our garden by chance. Our friends needed to get rid of their goats urgently as their neighbours were complaining about the baahing. We weren’t sure what that meant, but […]
Gaza’s Green Roofs of Herbs and Vegetables
In over-crowded Gaza, the locals have taken to growing crops on their flat roofs As the most densely populated area in the entire world, the Gaza Strip is understandably short of space. People live in overcrowded concrete homes separated by narrow alleyways and agricultural land is in short supply considering there is a need for […]
Louise “Goes Slow” ‘Round England
Interested in finding out about Slow Food, Slow Travel and some of the most beautiful places in England to slow down? Want to know about people who have chosen the Slow Life? This is the book for you – a journey and a resource. It is a gentle meander through England, a ramble across the […]
Marda Permaculture Farm Plants Sustainable Seeds in Palestine
Marda Permaculture Farm shows that traditional and modern sustainable farming practices can go hand in hand. Amidst the conflict and destruction that plagues Palestine, the Marda Permaculture Farm stands out as a model of sustainability and greenery. Founded in 2006 by permaculturist Murad Alkhufash (pictured above) who is a tenth generation farmer, the working farm […]