Trudy 
By Rosemary (Rowe) Morrow Refugees arrive in our classes with enormous educational and cultural differences. Whereas formal classes tend to have all students at the same standard and entry for study, refugees come in at all levels, and with diverse life experience. In 2025, I taught with a P4R-PTT team in Lesvos to Palestinian refugees … Read more
By Rosemary Morrow I was recently in China for a month; in Shanghai and then Hong Kong, teaching permaculture teachers to teach. It was enriching, but also an opportunity to be in close contact with Chinese people and to build friendships. And these I hope are cemented for us. I was taken into homes and … Read more
by John Bliss In an open field in Maine, rows of crops are growing, which look only vaguely familiar to most Maine gardeners. They would recognise the eggplant, the pumpkins, and certainly the pigweed towering over the field edges. But other crops would require closer inspection to recognise: hibiscus, cowpeas, and okra. More confusion arises … Read more
Lemon Tree Trust is entering an exciting new phase at one of its community gardens, Hêvî (meaning ‘hope’ in Kurdish), in Gawilan refugee camp in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as work concludes on a new polytunnel. This space will enable the team to raise thousands of seedlings for households in Gawilan, neighbouring settlements and … Read more
By Jessica Perini Jessica Perini shares four innovative fundraising strategies for refugee projects, including salvaging and selling discarded goods, connecting paying learners with refugee learners through online workshops, dedicating a portion of personal income to support initiatives, and running ongoing crowdfunding campaigns, emphasising the power of community, fair share, and practical creativity to create lasting … Read more
By Morag Gamble The permayouth champions in Uganda continue to inspire with a wide range of projects. In Nakivale refugee settlement, Ansima Casinga Rolande has just received a grant from a US-based foundation to create a living learning centre for women and children, and a tree-planning ecological regeneration project. Rolande is also hosting a youth … Read more
The stories of Afghan women rebuilding their lives in Portugal show the resilience, creativity, and hope refugees bring to new communities. For Permaculture for Refugees (P4R), this highlights the importance of empowering agency, fostering skills, and creating spaces where people can contribute and thrive. Like permaculture systems, integration grows strongest when it’s adaptive, collaborative, and … Read more
For many refugees in Malaysia, the journey of survival is intertwined with the search for belonging, education, and purpose. For Mohammed Ayas, a 22-year-old Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, that journey led him to The Blue Ribbon (TBR), a grassroots initiative blending permaculture, peacebuilding, and community empowerment. Ayas arrived in Malaysia as a child, separated from … Read more
In the below two articles about nutrition and food security for pregnant women in refugee settlements, we learn that nearly a fifth face severe food insecurity, showing that true maternal nutrition requires not just calories but access to varied, nutrient-rich foods and sustainable support. The Interplay Between Food Security, Dietary Diversity, and Disease Patterns Among … Read more
by Ramphai Noikaew and Greg Pettys Nestled on the outskirts of Shri Lanna National Park in Northern Thailand, Panya Forest is more than a permaculture project, it is a sanctuary. Here, a community of seed savers works not only to preserve plant diversity but also the stories, songs, and ancestral knowledge carried alongside each seed. … Read more