By Haneen Khaled | Program Coordinator
A difficult summer has just come to an end in Lebanon where, despite the deteriorating situation, the rooftop owners taking part in the urban rooftop project continued to take care of their plantations to prevent them from dying under the scorching sun. Fortunately, your kind donations made a difference in the situation because enough water was provided to everyone and several rooftops were equipped with drip irrigation systems to prevent overusing the already limited water supply.
Many different herbs and vegetables could be harvested during the summer and eaten by the participants and their families, but not only them. Many of our urban rooftop farmers started to produce enough to share. For instance, Manal shares the majority of her harvests with the people who live in her building. As a result, the neighborhood is given a pleasant atmosphere and a renewed sense of community.
Jafra is currently preparing the rooftop owners for a fresh beginning—a new season. This means that each camp receives additional trainings. Meanwhile, owners are prepared to receive a greenhouse each within a month. In order to have greenhouses constructed by Jafra volunteers in time for Lebanon's winter, measurements are now being made. Whether participants own rooftops with a large planted surface or plant smaller surfaces like balconies or window sills, Jafra's agronomist continues to follow up with all of them.
With the support of your past donations, we were able to install drip irrigation systems on some rooftops; nevertheless, we still have to equip the other half of our planters and still need to buy fresh water for those who are the less well-off. The economic situation is getting worse by the day and, with the prospect of a further high rise in costs at the beginning of November—all taxes are expected to cost 10 times as much as they did previously— our gardeners still count on your generosity.
We strive to help people develop self-reliance so they won't consider taking perilous routes out of the country in search of a better life somewhere else.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser