Bees. We know we need them for pollinating the food we eat – like almonds from California. Their stings may have medicinal properties, and to check we’ve even sent one of writers on a beekeeping mission where she got swarmed.

Besides their delicious honey, bees in all forms are an essential part of the web of life. While vegans don’t eat honey, and some we know like PieBird in Canada are working to liberate bee hives from human needs –– we like to support small, local beekeepers that help honey businesses and honeybees thrive. 

In 2012, we uncovered the people at Balyolu, working to train women in Turkey the art and craft of beekeeping so they could make a sustainable living. Part of the model that the American founder of Balyolu created was an eco-tourism aspect.

Instead of selling tourists carpets which Turkish men will do shamelessly, Balyolu had a mission to help tourists explore the rugged, pure nature of Turkey on a honey tasting tour. Taste the land through the honey. What could be better than that?

Well in the Bronx, honeybee keepers have tasted notes of pollution. In Jerusalem will the sweet bees offer a taste of holiness?

A new project in East Jerusalem is taking up a form of the Balyolu dream, no longer operating, by training Palestinian women without professions and teaching them how to be professional beekeepers. Muslims support the idea. Remember in 2012 when we interview the men who are beekeeping at mosques in England?

Fast forward and meet Dallal Nsardin Qassem, 52, a mother of five and grandmother of seven who – reports a local newspaper – learned the art of beekeeping three years ago while taking a course at the Sinsila Center, located on the rooftop terraces of East Jerusalem’s Central Library.

The center is a project of the Muslala non-profit which runs social and art projects in Jerusalem.

“Bees are blessed and there is a story about them in the Koran where it says: ‘The honeybee holds in its belly a liquid that is a medicine for mankind,’” she says. “I have learned to get close to the bees and to stop being afraid of them. I learned how bees work together, as a single entity, and we humans can learn a lot from them – how to conduct ourselves and behave in the best way.”

She noted that her husband was against the idea at first and her kids were afraid of the bees, but now everyone is onboard and she is teaching others how to tend to the hives, while earning an income. Her husband even collects honey from the hives.

It is not common for traditional Muslim women to work outside the home. So a profession that can be built at home on a rooftop is ideal. 

Tareq Nasser started the idea of Sinsila when he saw the success of the green roof created by Muslala on the roof of the Clal Center in West Jerusalem. This center which even rents tents like an AirBNB, offers an urban green space in the middle of downtown. It’s blessed by activists, artists, environmentalists and educators. 

Nasser told Haaretz: “This project is really changing these women! And I’m not talking about the elites – most of the women here don’t speak Hebrew or English, most don’t have jobs.

“Now they have a profession, they have a green terrace of their own on their roof. Of the women who participated in the pilot, three have been accepted to teach sustainability at a local school. Can you imagine how that changes the life of a 55-year-old woman who never had a job or completed a degree?”

Bees work with the police in Italy

In Italy, bees are working with the police: City bees in Italy are helping the police fight pollution.

While Italy’s Carabinieri is famous for fighting the country’s toughest criminals, a special unit charged with protecting forests and the environment, is now taking on a totally different kind of organised group. Since 2018 the rooftop of the force’s headquarters in central Rome has been home to beehives. 

“One of the main duties of Italy’s Carabinieri police force is to monitor the environment but here we’re using bees in a new way, as biodiversity indicators. They monitor an area that’s 1.5 to 2 km in size. That helps us to gather useful information, which isn’t normally available, about the atmospheric pollutants that might be present in urban areas, such as dioxins and other substances,” explained Giancarlo Papitto, from the Carabinieri’s Forestry and Environment Unit Command.

Cities are rich in biodiversity. Especially Levantine and Mediterranean ones where planter boxes can sit outside year round. Of course you can take plants like olives and plant them in potters (read here on how to grow an olive tree in a container), but in the Med region it’s just natural to plant and pot everything without the worry of frost. And now with the planters and urban trees growing around us, it’s time to start collecting honey. 

In 2017, I visited the Crawford Hotel in downtown Denver where I learned about beekeeping. It makes sense that the urban trend found in United States, Canada and all over Europe has made it to the Middle East. And even if you don’t keep the bees yourselves – they can keep themselves in nature with a little help. Plant an urban garden to help them out. 

The post Palestinian beekeepers make Jerusalem sweeter appeared first on Green Prophet.

Researchers at the Kadas Green Roofs Ecology Research Center are using the waste from coffee machines to fertilize an experimental plot in which different species of vegetation have been planted. The purpose of the research is to determine not just if coffee can be part of a substrate suitable for growing plants, but whether it might be even better than a normal substrate and will enhance the plants’ growth.

Related: see 15 surprising ways to put coffee grounds to use.

“At our research center we have a number of studies going that are examining what quality of the substrate and types of plants would be most suited for use on green roofs even with little or no maintenance. Using coffee waste is liable to improve the mix of minerals in the soil, and as a result, also improve plant growth on the roof,” said Shay Levy, the center’s manager.

The use of organic waste as a platform for ecological farming is already known, but despite the prevalence of used coffee (which can be taken from any coffeemaker or espresso machine), to date no one has examined its effectiveness as a green roof fertilizer.

The idea was the brainchild of Shai Linn, the dean of the Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences and a member of the University’s Green Campus council. Linn saw the combination of coffee waste and the Green Roofs Research Center, which is headed by Prof. Leon Blaustein and seeks to benefit the environment by growing things on the roofs of buildings, as a natural one.

To conduct this study the Student Union “donated” 17 kilograms of coffee waste from the café it runs, which was mixed with the substrate that until now has been used on the experimental plots. The plots were sown with Maltese Cross Ricotia, hare’s tail, scilla, daffodils, and even herbs like hyssop, sage, and druce. Given that rain has already fallen it will soon be clear whether coffee does roof plants any good.

“This is a great way to turn waste into a resource,” said Dr. Levy. “There’s no lack of coffee waste; on the contrary, we have more than enough of it. If we can prove that the coffee improves plant growth, it could be an amazingly ecological and economical solution for us and for the environment.”

The post These guys think coffee can do a green roof good appeared first on Green Prophet.

He then returned to Cairo, where the overwhelming pollution caused all kinds of health problems. His doctor advised him to leave. Instead, he set out to uproot the problem by planting mini carbon sponges throughout the city – a goal that seemed attainable after Mubarak was ousted. Despite the numerous obstacles he faced, Samad persevered, and the organization’s first rooftop farm is currently being installed on the roof of Hassan Abu Baker School.

Shagara had to wait a full year before their status as a non-government organization was approved, and then spent the second year trying to get permission to work with public schools.

By then, all but two volunteers abandoned the project, which seemed doomed to fail – at least until Samad received an unexpected boost from on high.

“I met the prime minister at the shooting club and told him about the issue, and he helped to push the project,” he told Green Prophet.

“Shagara is fighting on two fronts: a very poorly designed bureaucracy that does not get anything done, and an ill mentality of several civil servants and bureaucrats.”

“Some of them just told me you are doing this to make money out of it or you must be a spy. Unbelievable!!”

With financial backing from the Swiss embassy and an agreement with the Ministry of Education to focus on just one public school to begin with, Samad and his green-thumbed posse could finally proceed with plans to build a small urban farm on the roof of Hassan Abu Baker School in Cairo.

“Because of the relatively scarce space found in the urban areas, employing rooftops and other space on the building is a necessity,” he said.

Using school property seemed like an obvious choice for various reasons.

In addition to being able to utilize large swaths of unused space, teachers are poorly paid, so a revenue-generating urban farm could provide added income.

Plus, most public schools employ maintenance people who can help to maintain the crops and plants.

Indigenous plants and trees will be planted on the ground to help absorb carbon emissions, while various organic vegetables will be raised on the roof and sold.

Only non-toxic and low-carbon materials are being used. The implementation of the school project started last Sunday, February 17th, and the second phase will begin this week Thursday.

“Actually last Sunday the principal of the school told me they were wary at the beginning that I am a foreign spy or something; she even asked me for a copy of my ID,” Samad explained.

“Other than that all the teachers were so happy and the students were amazing. They were really eager to put the things together themselves and know about Shagara.”

The post Rooftop Farm in Egypt Finally Trumps Red Tape appeared first on Green Prophet.

Supported by the women’s group Karama, families in Bethlehem’s Dheisheh refugee camp have begun growing fresh food on their rooftops

Cramped conditions in the Dheisheh refugee camp of Bethlehem mean that any space – nevermind green space – is difficult to come by. The streets are narrow, families live in small homes and parks and large gardens are unheard of. That, however, hasn’t stopped the women’s group Karama from making the most of the space they do have in the refugee camp to grow fresh produce the locals can enjoy. Thanks to the fundraising efforts of one of Karama’s friends in the US, the women’s organization has provided the stands, covering, water tank, soil and seeds, to develop micro-farms on the rooftop of 15 families. As I have written in the past, the flat roofs of Middle Eastern homes are great spaces that are often overlooked so it’s lovely to see them being put to green use in even the most difficult circumstances. 

“Although luxurious rooftop gardens might be a hype and trend in parts of the USA and Europe, these green havens created in Deheishe Refugee Camp are all but a hype: they are a necessity for the families,” explains the Karama Organisation on their website. “For many families in the refugee camp, budgets are small and when a choice has to be made, the first spending cuts are made in their purchase of fresh vegetables or fruits. This leaves these families on a very restricted diet, having a dramatic short- and long term effect on the physical and psychological health of the families, especially the children.”

According to UNRWA 40 per cent of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank are classified as “food-insecure” or vulnerable to food insecurity as they have limited access to agricultural lands. By providing the tools for the refugees to grow their own food in the camp, this urban agriculture initiative by Karama allows them to rely less on aid to feed their families.

As well as addressing food insecurity in the West Bank, Karama (“dignity” in Arabic) also hopes that this project will have a positive impact on the role of women in society. Women have been put in charge of the gardens and have received training to ensure that the rooftop gardens are well looked after and maintained. Karama reason that, “working in the garden and supporting their families in this way, will help to release some of the stress they experience in their daily life, as well as empower them socially, increasing their self-esteem and life satisfaction.”

: Images via Karama Organisation.

For more on rooftop gardening in the Middle East see:

Rooftop Hydroponic Farms In Egypt Scrub the Air & Uplift Urban Poor

Beirut’s Rooftop Revolution (INTERVIEW)

What Urban Rooftop Gardening Could Do For The Middle East

The post Refugee Camp in Bethlehem Sprouts Green Rooftops appeared first on Green Prophet.

Green Prophet is heading into Egypt and we want to hear about all your growing green projects. Now more than ever environmentalists need to stay the course, to lay the groundwork for a better future so that when the powers-to-be (whoever they will be) finally sort out their mess, we will be ready.

Whether it’s rooftop farming, off-grid solar, fair-trade fashion, or earth-friendly architecture you’re interested in, we’re here for you. Contact me (Tafline Laylin, the Managing Editor) directly at tafline@greenprophet.com and I’ll give your project media coverage. Our international readership, which is growing day by day, wants to know that Egyptians are an eco-force to be reckoned with – even if it doesn’t seem that way now.

If you doubt us, check out the American University of Cairo’s Solar Decathlon team. At the height of last year’s revolution, they managed to push through their groundbreaking SLIDES project, gaining recognition as the first country from Africa or the Middle East to participate in the competition. Or hook up with the Hosny brothers at Schaduf, who are slowly helping low-income folk gain control over their lives again.

Despite the numerous challenges facing Egypt, ordinary citizens are making it easier to live a healthier life and to lighten their carbon footprint. The Sekem organic farm is world-renowned, eco-lodges abound and activists fight tirelessly to make their voices heard above the political din. We’re not going to lie: flying into Cairo at this turbulent time doesn’t sound nearly as awesome as snorkeling in quiet, mostly peaceful Oman, but we believe in Egypt.

And we’re ready to fight for a (much more) sustainable future.

The post Green Prophet Hasn’t Given up on Egypt appeared first on Green Prophet.

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 have developed closed-loop, vertical hydroponic systems that use recycled water and mineral nutrient solutions to grow cheaper, healthier produce.

Designed to become a secondary source of income for poor families living in the less-privileged areas of Maadi, where many expatriates and wealthy Egyptians seek shelter from Cairo’s bustling urban center, Schaduf’s farms have great potential to scrub the neighborhood’s polluted air and give struggling families a much-need fiscal boost.

A healthy supplemental income

Sherif Hosny is an engineer who quit his job in Dubai to work on an organic farm in the United States. He told Egypt Independent that he became taken with farming  and decided to return to his home country with his new-found learning.

Through Schaduf, which name refers to a weighted pole device that is used to lift heavy buckets of water, the Hosny brothers hope to uplift families that live below the poverty line. They are well on their way to achieving this goal.

Already they have received enough donations to build three rooftop systems that cost up to $2,500 – an amount of money that poor families could never produce. Schaduf has implemented a scheme that allows them to provide the hydroponic system and training upfront, for which new part-time urban farmers should be able to pay within a year by selling their produce.

Not only does the system support a new generation of urban farmers, but the supplies used to create the systems all come from local manufacturers, which further fosters a proudly-Egyptian economy.

Supporting the local economy

Egypt Independent reports:

All of the products used from the wooden frames, the perelite (a soil conditioner), the peat moss to the tarps are locally manufactured. Schaduf has already received enough donations to set up three rooftop farms and is working with local NGOs to find families who are interested and have the appropriate amount of space.

In addition to the rooftop hydroponics farm, the Hosny brothers are testing an “aquaponic” systems that combines principles of aquaculture and hydroponics. Although they have managed to raise Tilapia fairly successfully, the fish die off during unusually cold weather, so Schaduf is testing various low-tech solutions that will maintain warmth in the rooftop fish tanks.

Critics worry that Egypt’s pollution will compromise the quality of produce grown on Maadi rooftops, but Sherif dismisses these claims.

“Trees in the neighborhood may filter out some of the pollution sediments before they reach roofs, and the plants create CO2, pulling pollution out of the air,” he told Egypt Independent, adding that if rooftop gardens “could have a big impact on Cairo air.”

:: Egypt Independent

More on urban farming solutions in Egypt:

Egyptian Organic Farm Declared Sustainability World Leader

What Urban Rooftop Gardening Could do for the Middle East
Egypt’s Urban Agriculture Movement is Growing

The post Rooftop Hydroponic Farms in Egypt Scrub the Air and Uplift Urban Poor appeared first on Green Prophet.

When we think of Kuwait, not only do we have a hard time getting past the young hunter who killed a wolf and then posed for a series of family shots, but we also envision an unforgivable industrial landscape pocked with oil drilling platforms and desalination plants. While not entirely inaccurate, present day Kuwait belies a fertile past. Educators are hoping to reinvigorate “the Cradle of Civilization” with a new green roofed school designed by Perkins + Will that promotes hands-on agricultural learning.

The Kuwait Teaching School will double as a K-12 school and a teaching environment for the University students at the nearby School of Education.

This new school is designed to promote experimental teaching, to branch away from the rote memorization model of learning that ensures that most Kuwaitis have zero knowledge of their agricultural history. To implement a more hands on approach, the designer created plenty of outdoor space at grade and even on the school’s roof.

Landscaped roofs have become very popular in the western world since they absorb carbon emissions, insulate homes, and foster creative use of urban space, and countries in the Middle East and North Africa are slowly catching on. Egypt in particular has seen a surge of rooftop farming in the last year, largely as a result of food insecurity.

And while it seems that farming in the desert is impossible, advanced irrigation techniques or even soil-less farming make it completely viable – something that the Kuwait Teaching School will hopefully demonstrate with a series of laboratories, gardens, observatories and play spaces that defy the conventional classroom-based curriculum.

This is a very exciting development for the region, and we hope it spurs a host of similar projects.

More on Green Building in the Middle East:

Hassan Fathy is the Middle East’s Father of Sustainable Architecture

Nader Khalili Built Earth Buildings Fit for Space

Yemen’s Manhattan of the Desert Features 400 Habitable Clay Towers

The post Green Roof Architecture in Kuwait appeared first on Green Prophet.