Permaculture teacher Geoff Lawton who is currently based in the Middle East answers all your growing questions Permaculture power couple Nadia and Geoff Lawton, currently based in Jordan, have released a series of great (and free!) Permaculture videos online. The videos are basically a how-to guide of applying Permaculture principles, things to consider before buying […]
Soaring temperatures and low precipitation could not occur at a worse time for many farmers in the United States, and around the world. Intensifying drought conditions are affecting corn and soybean crops throughout the Midwest, raising grain prices as well as concerns about future food prices. The US Drought Monitor reports that 88 percent of […]
Scott Howard is among a growing number of people working on building projects that are not only eco-friendly, but actually help to regenerate natural systems. Once built, the Regenerative Home in Colorado will hopefully produce its own food in an entryway greenhouse and vertical garden, process all of its own waste, capture and recycle water […]
Palmaculture is a new name for an old concept – one which helped green the Middle East with traditional palm gardens called bustans For centuries now date palm groves have been present in the hot deserts of MENA stretching from Morocco in the west to Yemen in the south. Indeed these man-made ecosystems have been […]
A permaculture garden and a mud-brick house, the Dead Sea Harmony Centre in Jordan spreads the word on sustainability William Alajalian, who was born and raised in the Dead Sea area of Ghor Mazraa, may be new to environmentalism but he is more passionate and pro-active than most campaigners. Around three years ago, his passion […]
Jordanian Nadia Lawton, a permaculture teacher tells Green Prophet why she believes permaculture could be the region’s silver green bullet. “Permaculture made total common sense to me,” insists Nadia Lawton, “it also fitted with my life ethics a a Muslim.” While the first part of Nadia’s statement may not be considered unique, her remark about […]
In honor of the last day of Hannukah, the Yesh Meain permaculture farm will be hosting an all-day permaculture celebration. Links are often found between Jewish holidays and the environment, and environmentally-minded organizations in Israel try to find eco-friendly ways to celebrate them. We’ve seen these eco Jewish celebrations center around Sukkot, a holiday that […]
Anyone who is interested to transition to a more sustainable way of life will benefit from Kibbutz Lotan’s comprehensive eco-guide app. Many socially and environmentally conscious citizens dream about leaving the grid for good and getting back in touch with nature, but the general lack of sustainable infrastructure and available information in the Middle East […]
German-Palestinian society NIJMAH is working on renovating a kid’s playground using natural materials and setting up a permaculture garden Permaculture may be new to the Middle East but with Jordan hosting the recent permaculture world conference and various organic farms sprouting up, the region is slowly catching up. In Palestine, there is already a permaculture […]
A sustainable T.R.E.E. grows in Aspen, where children learn about real food. As a child, Israeli-born Eden Vardy wanted to know where his food came from. And since he grew up in Aspen, Colorado, his food generally came from a supermarket and was probably transported from far away. As he grew older and learned more […]
Green-fingered activists will be flocking to Jordan to attend the tenth International Permaculture Conference this September The bustling city of Amman and sweeping red sands of Wadi Rum in Jordan will be hosting the International Permaculture conference this month. The theme of the event is ‘Plan Jordan – Water’ which is rather apt considering that […]
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, […]
Can urban agriculture save Cairo? We think it’s a pretty good start There has been an important spotlight on agriculture not only in Egypt, which is suspected by the EU of causing the E. coli outbreak in Germany earlier this year, but also other Middle Eastern and North African countries such as Morocco whose poor […]
When it comes alive, the Penyon Bay Ecovillage will overlook the Bay of Alhoceima in Northern Morocco. As economies and ecosystems degenerate, and spiritual malaise increases (as I’ve pointed out in my green Christmas wish list), communities worldwide are forming new bonds. Moving away from the consumer model, ecovillages incorporate various degrees of the old […]
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 […]
This book is unusual. Firstly, by virtue of covering the topic of forest gardening at all, but also unusual in another respect. Many gardening books either concentrate on being packed with practical How-To information, or on offering glossy fantasies for gardeners. In Creating a Forest Garden Martin Crawford has expertly covered both bases. There are […]
We’ve had our eyes on Greek-Israeli green architect, Elias Messinas, for a while. President of the NGO ECOWEEK (active in Greece, Cyprus, and Israel), and an environmental consultant to the Kramim Eco Village project in Israel, he’s also been busy over the past year in organizing a “green” civil engineering lecture series for the city […]
Wael looks into the horizon (on Mount Nebo, Jordan) and sees a new “green” economy that could radically improve life for Palestinians. The Marda Permaculture Farm is a working farm and a demonstration site for permaculture principles, techniques and strategies in the West Bank, Palestinian Authority. Based in the community of Marda, the project promotes […]
After around two months of international phone calls, this Sunday and Monday Green Prophet hosted a whirlwind two-day (20-hour) seminar on environmental blogging in Madaba, Jordan. Thanks to the good efforts of Volunteers for Peace and the Masar Center, nearly 20 Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli writers and activists met for the first time and learned […]
Tucked deep into the Arava desert at the southeastern border of Israel, Kibbutz Lotan‘s Center for Creative Ecology has announced two programs for the late summer and fall, including detailed information for funding on its Web site. The first is the Peace, Justice and Environment course, which is run in conjunction with the Living Routes […]
Should I stay or should I go? It’s a common question vexing many people living in Jerusalem, a city suffering from negative population migration, particularly young, secular Jews who leave to seek opportunities in Tel Aviv and central Israel. Siah HaSade is a new permaculture centre in the heart of west Jerusalem which seeks to […]
The olive tree in this photo is reputed to be 2000 years old – give or take a century or so. It’s growing in a grove just above the village of Deir Hanna, in the North of Israel, one of five there that have attained record-breaking ages. I was a part of a group of […]
In this week’s green book review, special guest desert dwelling activist and academic Lucy Michaels, gets to the heart of the matter with a classic eco text: “The burnt cliffs and lonely skies … all that which lies beyond the end of roads:” From Desert Solitaire and why Israel’s deserts need their own Edward Abbey. […]
In American colleges, being part of “Greek” culture means that you’re part of a fraternity or sorority (and, by extension, that you usually engage in lots of drinking and debauchery). In Israel, this has been lost in translation. Like, really lost. As of Friday, November 28 being part of “Greek” culture in Israel will mean […]
College students don’t usually need a justifiable reason for studying abroad. And study abroad in Israel? There’s the sun, the beach, the good food, the beautiful people… all very educational, of course. But for those students who are looking for a justifiable reason (at least one they can tell their undergraduate advisors or parents), how […]