I am a freelance permaculture teacher and consultant, currently living and working in the Palestinian West Bank. I have been involved in permaculture projects here since 2008, first co-founding and directing Bustan Qaraaqa Permaculture Farm (where I worked as 'Community Projects Coordinator' for 4 years), and then launching the PermaNegev course (an initiative to build a permaculture centre in the Bedouin village of Qasr a Sir in the Negev, through building a program of international PDC courses), in cooperation with Bustan (www.bustan.org).

Today I split my time between a number of projects in the West Bank, the Negev, the Sinai and Jordan and my work includes coordinating research into the effectiveness of permaculture techniques, designing and implementing food security systems and teaching PDCs and short courses in agroforestry and soil management.

I am particularly interested in the political aspects of permaculture, and in developing models for applying permaculture principles to community organising.

Permaculture and the sustainability of resistance

One man’s struggle for sustainable farming on his land in the occupied West Bank is not only a fight against occupation. It suggests that international environmental law provides a legal avenue for Palestinians to sue for their rights. - See more at: http

Habiba Community – building sustainability and community resilience in South Sinai

Read about this inspiring project to build community resilience and transition away from dependency on tourism in Sinai....

Hidden Gardens of a Sacred Landscape

The Makhad Trust (www.makhad.org) works to restore the mountain gardens of the Jebalia Bedouin in St Katherine's governorate, Sinai, Egypt.

Of Permaculture and Pastoralism: Heroes and Villains?

Pastoralists often get a bad press as agents of environmental destruction, but is this really a fair portrayal? Are farmers better than cowboys? How do we as permaculturalists relate to nomads?

Sinking the Lifeboats: Reflections on a visit to Herbaiet a Nabi

This is a write-up of a field trip that was organised as part of the PermaNegev course that I ran with Bustan earlier this year - we are running another one starting on August 26th - there are still spaces if anyone wants to play!

The Green Intifada: How Palestinians Resist Occupation by Planting Trees

A nice write-up on our tree planting campaign in Palestine this spring. Many thanks to Anna for this one :)

Resistance is fertile: Palestine's eco-war

Great article by James Brownsell of Al Jazeera all about eco-activism in Palestine and the politics of tree planting.

The politics of Olive Harvesting in Palestine

A beautifully written blog entry by Carly, who is currently volunteering at Bustan Qaraaqa