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
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 Alfred Decker & Tomas Remiarz As a permaculture community, we cannot be silent in the face of the genocide in Palestine. It is our moral duty to stand up and confront the destruction: In July and August, a group of permaculturalists organised two online talks in English and one in French called, “Permaculture & … Read more
Ecohub has been a centre for permaculture education and ecotherapy for refugees on Lesvos since 2017. Originally based in a community centre just across from the refugee camp, it has provided education and green shelter to tens of thousands of refugees over the years. Launched by Better Days NGO in 2017, Ecohub was created to … Read more
Françoise Pierre, an Australian permaculturist and midwife, has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Tajikistan, Sudan, and Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Through her frontline experience, she witnessed an alarming number of preventable maternal and infant deaths in refugee settings. One of her most urgent observations is that many of these deaths are linked not only … Read more
Since the writing of this article in February 2025, the status of the U.S freeze on aid has changed. However, it still raises many questions US international aid represents 42% of global aid and just 1% of the US budget. When this aid is suddenly halted—along with nearly 5,000 USAID grants—critical networks that prevent starvation, … Read more
By Permaculture in Ukraine https://www.permaculture.in.ua In May 2024, Alfred Decker of Permaculture For Refugees teamed up with the organization Permaculture in Ukraine to deliver a permaculture teacher training at the beautiful Ukrainian ecovillage “Zeleni Kruchi.” For the past two years, while organizing courses, we have been asking ourselves this question: how can we make the … Read more
By Gloire Mudekuza, Managing Director of Plethora Social Initiative Edited by Marguerite Kahrl (P4R) The world is currently facing a growing food insecurity crisis, and refugee communities like the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda are among the hardest hit. As one of the largest refugee settlements globally, Nakivale is home to over 180,000 individuals who … Read more