Help us bring hope, connection and belonging to displaced Syrians living in Gawilan refugee camp.

We urgently need your support to help with the build and running costs of our new community garden in Gawilan refugee camp. The garden has been named Hêvî, which means ‘hope’ in Kurdish.

All donations will be matched – please donate today and double your impact

Our Gawilan community garden, Hêvî

Pictured, from left to right: The site in Gawilan camp before the community garden build starts; Lemon Tree Trust’s Hamid Abdullah who is project managing the build with our Gawilan garden facilitator; the finished fencing.

Following the success of our flagship community garden, Azadî, in Domiz 1 camp (pictured below), we are excited to be creating another community garden in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq – this time in Gawilan camp. We’ve named the garden, Hêvî, which means ‘hope’ in Kurdish.

Gawilan is home to more than 10,000 people and 2,400 families. The majority are Kurdish and from the Syrian cities of Al Hasakah and Aleppo. We have been running annual garden competitions and monthly garden awards in the camp since 2017 and added annual cooking competitions and school gardening activities in 2022.  

We’re thrilled to be expanding our gardening activities in Gawilan, creating a vibrant oasis where families can find solace, growth, and a sense of community.

The build is progressing well – so far, with your help, we have:

• installed fencing and gates
• installed a cabin for office purposes and a container for storage
• built a stand for the water supply and extended the pipeline from a nearby borehole

We are currently building 92 raised beds for gardeners to grow fresh produce. 

We need your help with the building and running costs

All donations will be matched – please donate today and double your impact

Pictured: The flourishing Azadî Community Garden after its extension in 2023 – a green sanctuary we want to replicate, with your help, at the new Gawilan community garden.

How your donation will help our Gawilan community garden, Hêvî

🌱 £25 GBP / $30 USD could provide 1 month’s supply of compost Help provide a healthy base and nutrients to support healthy plant growth

🫖 £50 GBP / $62 USD could provide 3 months of refreshments for our gardeners’ tea breaks Support our gardeners to make new friends, build connection, community and belonging

💡 £80 GBP / $100 USD could help provide plumbing, electricity and maintenance for 2 weeks Support the day to day ‘behind the scenes’ running costs

🥬 £160 GBP / $200 USD could buy a small polytunnel Help all our gardeners produce food and flowers for their families and neighbours

🛝 £555 GBP / $700 USD could cover the cost of building a playground Provide a safe and fun environment for children to play in

🍞 £1,750 GBP / $2,200 USD could cover the cost of building a bread oven, plus a year’s supply of flour Enable the daily baking of bread, an important tradition and culture for Syrians, a source of sustenance and a taste of home

👩🏽 £5,720 GBP / $7,200 USD could cover staff costs for 1 year in Gawilan Help us to provide jobs for Gawilan residents who look after the community garden and support people to grow food and flowers

Double your impact: All donations will be matched

Meet Othman – our new Gawilan community garden manager

Pictured: Othman lends a hand at the new Gawilan community garden site where a digger levels the ground in preparation for the fencing, raised beds and playground to be constructed.

Our gardening activities in the Kurdistan Region are run for and by displaced people living in the communities we support – with Othman Qewas, pictured below, being one such person.

Othman has worked as Lemon Tree Trust’s Garden Coordinator in Gawilan camp since 2018 and has lived in Gawilan since 2015 after fleeing the war in Syria with his family.

In 2024, Othman’s role will expand to oversee the build and manage the day-to-day running of the the Hêvî Community Garden with support from our local team.

We chat to Othman about gardening and life in Gawilan.

Read about the produce Othman and his family enjoy growing in their home garden, Othman’s favourite flower and more…

Doubling your impact at the Gawilan community garden, Hêvî

Pictured, from left to right: Flowers grow in the Azadî Community Garden; Domiz 2 residents; a cauliflower ready for harvesting in Azadî © Britt Willoughby.

All donations during the appeal are being kindly match funded by one of our most generous supporters.

So, if you make a donation of £50 / $62, it will be automatically matched with another £50 / $62, meaning that your gift will total £100 / $124 and could help provide 3 months of refreshments for our gardeners’ tea breaks, supporting our gardeners to make new friends, build connection, community and belonging.

How to get your donation matched 

You don’t have to do a thing. Just make a donation via JustGiving. Once our appeal closes, we’ll add up all the donations and invite our donor to fund match the total up to £40,000 / $50,000. 

Bring fresh food and flowers to hundreds of displaced people who are putting down roots in Gawilan camp

Why community gardens?

Pictured: The Azadî Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp © Britt Willoughby.

Community gardens help restore hope, bring beauty and build community. The simple act of gardening is a powerful tool in helping people to overcome trauma and improve mental health.  

They also significantly contribute to the local and wider environment of urban camps, bringing much-needed shade, soil improvement and greenery. And often they become the ‘hub’ for wider camp activity as they are often used as meeting spaces for other groups and NGOs operating in the camp. ​ 

In a Lemon Tree Trust community garden, you will find:   

✅ Marked beds for women and their families to grow food and flowers for their families and neighbours​

✅ Covered seating area for meeting and socialising with facilities to take tea​  

✅ Small livestock area – rabbits and chickens – for meat and eggs (fed on garden scraps and grain)​  

✅ Community bread oven​  

✅ Covered hoop houses (nursery area) for growing tender vegetables, roses and bringing on seedlings for community distribution​  

✅ Herbal tea ingredients growing area

✅ Library or playground – a safe space for children to learn, play and have fun!

 

Pictured: Some of our gardeners in the Azadî Community Garden where friendships blossom.

Please make a donation to help us create and run the new Hêvî Community Garden in Gawilan camp

Lemon Tree Trust’s impact

All donations will be matched – please donate today and double your impact