A Dream of Rooftop Gardens Across Refugee Camps across the West Bank
“Did you know that you can plant an entire acre of land in an area less than 500 square meters on the roof of your house?
UNRWA
16 Aug 2021
Excerpt:
Ihab Abu Khairan lives in the heart of Arroub refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Overcrowded and often subject to tear gas and incursions by Israeli Security Forces (ISF), Ihab’s love of agriculture and nature distracts him from the harsh reality of the circumstances of his community. This passion inspired him to start a roof makeover project. He hopes to spread the tranquilty his rooftop garden gives him to his neighbours too.
It all started in 2018, when Ihab, then 24 years-old started his roof makeover project. He submitted his green roof project idea to the Hult Prize competition at Hebron University. It won him first place at university level and went on to win first prize at regional level that following year. This competition is open to university students from all over the world and encourages them to develop projects that will solve the problems facing their communities.
“The competition called for a productive or pioneering project that could serve more than 10,000 people. Since I was studying agronomy at the time – something I still have great passion for – I came up with this idea, inspired by similar successful projects in different parts of the world. I won first prize at the Hebron University level, then I was also awarded the same prize at the southern governorates regional level.”
Ihab’s project enables for the vertical urban expansion of green space. This is essential given that refugee camp boundaries are fixed and public spaces are hard to justify when primary housing is scarce.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Ihab was forced to spend most of his time at home. This prompted him to start implementing his rooftop garden project. “During the first weeks of quarantine, I found that I had a lot of time on my hands. I started to implement my garden project and as you can see, it’s colorful and comfortable despite its small size. It’s a place where we can sit and relax every day. When things got better with COVID-19 we invited friends and relatives over,” Ihab added.
