Skip to main content

Rooftop Gardens Uplift Poor Refugee Camps

An initiative to grow rooftop gardens in overcrowded, crammed camps is providing some economic relief for Palestinian refugees, Dalia Hatuqa reports from the West Bank.
A Palestinian worker picks cucumbers growing in a greenhouse to be sold in a local market in the West bank city of Jenin March 6, 2012. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: AGRICULTURE SOCIETY FOOD)

Rows of nondescript houses line the maze that is Dheisheh, a refugee camp of 13,500 Palestinians living in cramped dwellings. Space in this Bethlehem-area camp is a luxury as families are forced to build on top of one another, and gardens or parks are practically unheard of.

A higher cost of living — skyrocketing prices of goods and fuel — have left many struggling, including Hajar Hamdan, a 60-year-old woman living with her elderly mother, her sister and her sister’s two children. But in the past few months, a sliver of hope had arisen, courtesy of an idea that dates back to ancient Mesopotamia.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.