Murad Alkufash: “Marda Permaculture Farm: Planting Seeds of Hope in the Occupied Territories”
Murad Alkufash is a dedicated permaculturist. Considering where he lives, he must be. Or, perhaps because of where he lives he must be — as permaculture is a truly logical, and the only really lasting, solution to the problems surrounding him. Murad lives in the West Bank, and directly under one of the largest illegal settlements in Palestine. The biological and climatic environment he faces is quite challenging, yet the political environment is even more so. It’s one of the most complex political environments to be found in this tired old world.
Murad attended the recent Tenth International Permaculture Conference & Convergence (IPC10), and gave the following presentation on his work at the convergence in the Wadi Rum desert. As well as the video below, if you want a bit of background on Murad and his situation, you can read a feature post I did on this a while back.
Resources:
- Download Murad’s presentation (27mb PDF)
- Letters from the West Bank – Seeds of Hope Scattered from the West Bank’s First PDC
This is so heartening. Another piece of the puzzle comes along with this, as many Palestinians turn to earthbag type housing (ala Nader Khalili) to create beautiful, environment appropriate homes that are not dependent upon cement or other materials that would have to be imported.