Zahart el-Dar: The Women's Garden

The indigenous people of Nuweiba, the Bedouins, have been affected for years by local and international crises. Thanks to their adaptability skills, they have endured economic, political, social and environmental hardships, but they have also suffered exclusion and discrimination.

The goal of this project is:

1. Supporting the economic empowerment of Bedouin women;
2. Reviving traditional values, and connection to the land of the Bedouin community;
3. Restoring the ecosystem and greening the land for the community.

By:

1. Building a bio-ecological women-led farm:

• adapted to the local climate in comparison with the widespread concrete brick houses;
• using traditional building techniques and local and natural materials;
• involving and training the local community through a participatory process of workshops & training modules, both during the design, implementation and commissioning.

2. Greening the plot and implementing sustainable resources (climate adaptation):

• spreading awareness on endemic species (planting local flora & fauna);
• following permaculture principles;
• installing solar panels + a grey water system.

3. Empowering the women:

• creating a brand and marketing opportunities for female entrepreneurship;
• organizing farming, herbs and cosmetic products workshops to revive traditional knowledge (aromatic and medicinal plants), traditional food industry (dairy products, pickles, etc), and handmade artisanship (essential oils, soaps, etc).

The village of Wasit, inhabited by the Muzeina tribe, counts around 250 families, while the bedouin population of Nuweiba (Muzeina and Tarabin tribes) is around 3500 people.

The project is going to reach directly:

• 50 women, the future users of the newly established farm;
• 50 men/youngsters from Muzeina, the local team of builders, suppliers, drivers, etc;
• 70 men/youngsters trained during the open construction training modules.

And indirectly:

• 250 families, that are part of the larger network of farmers of Wasit;
• 1400 youngsters from Wasit, that can be trained after the project life (eg. open construction training modules and “train the trainer” approach);
• 3.500+ Bedouins, the Muzeina and Tarabin tribes

The challenge

Today South Sinai is one of the driest areas in the world, where climate change has reduced the rain patterns significantly (78mm average annual rainfall in Nuweiba), creating the conditions of extreme weather events, testing the climate resilience of the local nomadic peoples, the Bedouins, resulting in food insecurity. But as science has proven, the region can be restored into a man-made heaven by planting endemic shrubs and trees that can help mitigate climate change effects on a large scale.

Solution in use

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