Hêvî Community Garden receives new portacabin and essential upgrades
The Hêvî Community Garden in Gawilan camp has recently seen a number of improvements to better support its gardeners.
A new portacabin has been installed at the front of the garden, providing a comfortable space for gardeners to rest and plan their work as the seasons change from summer to autumn in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The portacabin has been fully refurbished with electricity, curtains, notice boards, an air conditioning unit, a strengthened roof, additional lighting and a new wash basin, making it a safe and welcoming hub for our gardeners. In addition, two 2,000 litre water tanks have been installed alongside our other existing tanks to support crop irrigation.
Elsewhere in the garden, ongoing maintenance ensures the community space stays well-organised and productive. Raised beds have been repaired and reinforced, trees along the fence maintained and tied, fencing cleaned, and seeds sown for the autumn growing season. In August, gardeners cultivated more than 900 kg of vegetables in the Hêvî garden to feed their families, including pumpkins, chilli peppers, molokhia, aubergines and more.
‘Hêvî’, which means ‘hope’ in Kurdish, reflects how the community garden supports residents in Gawilan camp, which is home to over 10,000 people and around 2,400 families, most originally from the Syrian cities of Al Hasakah and Aleppo. The garden offers a vital green space where residents can grow fresh, nutritious food, develop practical skills together and feel a sense of belonging and community.
We thank Harikar NGO for supporting the new portacabin and the water tanks, and UNHCR and the DMCR for donating furniture including chairs, tables, a water cooler and the AC unit. Their support ensures the Hêvî Community Garden continues to be a thriving space of community, learning and empowerment for the residents of Gawilan.
Stay up to date and support our work
Follow our work at the Hêvî Community Garden and see how your support helps families in Gawilan camp flourish. Sign up for email updates.
You can also help us expand our gardens, provide tools and facilities, and support more families by making a donation today. Every contribution helps grow food, skills and hope for the residents of Gawilan. Thank you for your support.
We have launched our Spring 2026: Tree & Plant Appeal, inviting supporters to help families displaced by war grow gardens that bring food, shade, sanctuary and beauty to the places they now call home. There are over 1.34 million displaced people living in Iraq, more than 300,000 of them Syrian refugees. Many live in camps … Continued
Gardens That Can Save the World, a new book by award-winning garden designer Lottie Delamain, features Lemon Tree Trust and we are honoured to be included. The book, published on 12 March by Thames & Hudson, brings together 65 projects from around the world, exploring how gardens and growing can address some of the most … Continued
We are pleased to have run a small gardening project with the Êriș Centre in Qamishli, Syria. The centre helps supports 12 children aged five and above with a range of disabilities and additional needs. They are supported by a team of 17 trainers, assistants and supervisors. We arranged two simple gardening activities for the … Continued