newsletter n.16 - Gerusalemme

agriculture & food security
Home gardens for food security: the work of ACS in the West Bank and
Gaza
The creation of home gardens is
now considered one of the best ways
to beat the risk of food insecurity in
the semi-rural urban areas, which
are most affected by poverty. ACS
has been involved in this sector
for many years and up to now has
managed three projects in this area.
Among these, ACS is now implementing
a project for the construction of 55 urban
home gardens and semi-urban areas with
the aim of increasing the food security
of vulnerable families in Gaza, funded
through the Emergency programme of
the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
with a contribution of 130 000 Euros.
In addition to the Strip, which in recent
years has shown alarming rates of
malnutrition and food insecurity, ACS
operates in the West Bank, where it
worked in partnership with Oxfam Italy
for the project “Emergency support to
protect agriculture-based Livelihoods
in the Pastoral Areas of the West Bank”,
also funded by the Italian Cooperation
through FAO (Food and Agriculture
Organisation) with a contribution of 1
million and 600 thousand Euros. The
project ended on the 1st of September
2011, supporting poor families living in
the area between Jerusalem, Bethlehem
and Jericho. According to evaluations
carried out by FAO and ACS, 148
families considered “food insecure”
benefited from the project.
With the support of the FAO office in
Jerusalem, which was responsible for
the overall supervision of works and
purchase of products, ACS distributed to
148 beneficiaries of the project the items
(goods and tools) necessary to create a
home garden: from the water supply (water tanks, filters, irrigation pipes, valves) to a
range of seeds for the cultivation of primary products of high consumption (zucchini,
eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, peppers and thymus). The creation of the
gardens was preceded by technical training offered to the beneficiaries on methods
of cultivation in small scale and on issues related to agriculture development in the
Palestinian territories (access to water, water management in desert areas, use of
natural pesticides and composting).
These theoretical sessions were preparatory activities in the field and were conducted
by agronomists of the Palestinian NGO AAA (Arabic Agronomist Association), local
partner in the project. If the technical side was the key expertise of the NGO AAA,
direct contact with the beneficiaries in the different villages was facilitated by the local
Women’s associations and Local Councils, which helped in carrying out the activities,
training organization and logistic distributions.
As part of the training activities, great success has been achieved by working together
with the Bedouin community of Wadi Abu Hindi, a small village which lies in Area
C, in the desert between Jerusalem and Jericho, under constant threat of eviction by
Israeli authorities. The activities in this community had a particular importance in
light of the precarious living conditions of the inhabitants. The Bedouin communities,
as nomads, are traditionally associated with sheep farming and therefore, often
resistant to acknowledge agricultural methods, which have become necessary due to
the forced settlement they are experiencing in the West Bank.
Six home gardens for a total of 300 sqm are going to provide food aid to several families
in the community of Wadi Abu Hindi. This community appears to be particularly
skilled in agricultural work and very excited to follow the training in methods of
cultivation and use of water.
Davide Rossi - ACS
NEWSLETTER N.16 27