Floret Flowers interview with Lemon Tree Trust founder Stephanie Hunt
Huge gratitude and thanks go to Erin Benzakein, Becky Crowley and all the team at Floret Flowers. As well as a generous donation of Floret Flowers seeds to our emergency ‘Gardener to Gardener’ Seed Appeal, Erin has published a lovely interview feature with our founder Stephanie Hunt on the Floret website.
In the feature, Stephanie chats to Erin about why displaced people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq want to garden and the benefits that gardening brings. She shares our work over the last five years and vision for the future, plus what life is like in camp for residents and the current impact of Covid-19:
– Ahmed Ibrahim Ismail is from Syria and lives in Domiz 2 camp, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He wrote: “I have a humble garden at my house. I started working on it two years ago with my children, and we have spent many good times in it, especially since the coronavirus curfews have been in place. My garden contains 20 different types of rose; each one has a different color. I also grow grapes, figs, cypress, and pine.”
– Hadeya Ezzeldin Ismail is also from Syria. She lives in Gawillan camp, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. She wrote: “I started gardening three years ago to keep myself busy and for the comfort it brings. I now spend five hours every day in my garden, cleaning and watering. My favorite plants are grapes, roses, mint, and parsley. COVID-19 has affected us all psychologically, but it has had a particularly negative impact on the children here. My family and I spend time in the afternoons sitting together in the garden we have made.”
– Khokhi Hasso Silo is 39. She lives in Khanki camp with her husband and six children, having fled to the Kurdistan region from Chinchal in Iraq to escape ISIS. She wrote: “We are people used to living in villages in the countryside, and we used to visit neighbors and relatives a lot. Coronavirus has deprived us of that, and this has been very difficult. It has also deprived people of their livelihoods. At home people feel bored because of unemployment, and we must occupy ourselves in order not to be overcome by negative thoughts. We occupy ourselves with our garden. We grow and harvest clean and fresh food, and it gives us somewhere to sit with each other, and this helps us psychologically.”
Harvest time can be a good opportunity to get together, share what we are growing, making or cooking and raise funds for Lemon Tree Trust. Whether you share homegrown produce, enjoy a meal with friends or organise a garden gathering, there are plenty of simple ways to bring people together and support our work. Whether … Continued
Lemon Tree Trust supporter Katie Cox recently raised £1,000 for our work, plus £250 in Gift Aid, by organising an arts and crafts fundraising event at her home and in her garden. Katie is pictured above wearing a rather fabulous green shirt covered in lemons. Katie’s donation was made during our Tree & Plant Appeal, … Continued
This spring, we launched our 2026 Tree & Plant Appeal with a target of £30,000 / $39,500 USD to help us grow and distribute trees and plants, both ornamental and productive, to families and communities living in refugee and internally displaced people’s camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Thanks to the incredible generosity of … Continued