Windmill apprentices wanted: Click-clack…click-clack, click-clack the rhythm echoes the heartbeat of the Persian desert wind. For more than one thousand years the people of Nashtifan, in northeastern Iran have heard this sound as they harnessed the “storm’s sting” wind that gave their village its name. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qqifEdqf5g] There are about 30 windmills in the desert […]
A couple of years ago in Dubai we interviewed the Green Sheikh – a beloved figure in the United Arab Emirates who is a devoted father and husband, hyper productive activist, and a faith leader. Plus he is smart- PhD smart. Referencing the many expatriates living (and generating wealth) in the country, he said something […]
The Medicinal Plants Association in Egypt helps preserve biodiversity and is one of the 25 winners of the Equator Prize 2012. Policy making within the realm of “development” is often burdened by an excessively westernized design resulting in unintended consequences on the welfare of local populations. For example, a previous Green Prophet article “Morocco’s Berbers […]
A community project in Qatar explores local folktales and what they can teach us about nature in the Middle East
Egypt’s hottest new environmentally-conscious designer Manar Moursi studied in two of America’s most prestigious academic institutions before founding Studio Meem – a sassy and sustainable design studio based in Cairo. Leaving the stoic traditions of Princeton University and UVA behind, Moursi is now making green waves in her home country. Despite being a fairly young […]
Goldfish have made up a small part of the Iranian New Year festivities for thousands of years, but some activists want this practice to end. A longstanding Zoroastrian tradition, the Iranian New Year known as Nowruz is a time for spring cleaning, visiting friends, banishing the old, and preparing for the new. Beginning at the […]
International water management policies in Morocco have disrupted the Berber’s perfectly good and longstanding system. In 2009 I travelled to the High Atlas mountain region of Morocco to reach some friends that ran an eco-lodge in a very lonesome village with a wholesome lifestyle. The mother of Houssa, the owner of the eco-lodge, revealed the […]