Hêvî Community Garden update, summer 2025: growing together

Summer temperatures have reached 45°C across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and our gardeners at the Hêvî Community Garden in Gawilan camp now tend their crops during evening visits, rather than the usual 10am opening. Even these cooler evening hours see temperatures in the 30s, making the garden’s new improvements essential for comfort and community connection.

Thanks to your generous support, work continues uninterrupted, even in the extreme summer heat. Your donations have enabled us to complete our urgent summer improvements, delivering essential infrastructure that’s already transforming how our community uses the garden space. Thank you so much.

Recent developments

Not one but two shaded resting areas now provide welcoming, canopied spaces where women gather for tea, share seeds and stories, whilst also encouraging the younger generation of gardeners who regularly accompany their mothers.

The structures are made from sturdy metal frames, skillfully built by a local blacksmith. Othman and his team then added reed roofing sheets and fabric panels along the rear walls to create cool, shaded canopies. Finally, the frames were painted a vibrant red to brighten the spaces and make them feel more inviting.

Two new polytunnels protect tender seedlings from intense heat, shield crops from strong winds and house our new drip irrigation system. This is essential for maintaining food security during the most challenging growing months.

We’ve installed metal roofing along the whole length of the office to create a covered walkway, providing shade for those using the path or waiting outside the office, whilst also helping to keep the office cooler.

We’ve also added flower planters made from recycled car tyres, now filled with ornamental plants to bring colour and greenery to the space.

Gravel has been spread from the main entrance to the front of the office, so exposed water lines between plots are now covered.

These improvements are already helping to deliver remarkable results. The garden is currently producing approximately 1000kg of fresh food monthly, a fourfold increase from 250kg in March. With these enhancements, we anticipate continued similar yields even during peak summer heat, when nutritious produce is most valuable.

Thank you to local artist Jamal who has donated five original paintings which we are displaying in the garden.

What’s growing now

Right now, our gardeners are tending to summer crops like okra, green beans, courgettes, chilli peppers, aubergines and tomatoes, plus herbs like mint and basil. Families are harvesting summer squash, peppers and leafy greens including molokhia, a beloved Syrian staple, that provide essential nutrition during these challenging months.

Your support enables more than food production though, it provides a space for community connection.

Thank you for supporting the Hêvî Community Garden. Your contributions enable us to maintain this essential work all year round.

Looking ahead

Our teams will be taking a well-deserved break in August to rest and spend time with their families before we resume full activities and begin planning for the autumn planting season.

With additional funding, we would like to introduce the following features over time that have been requested by the community:

1. A wildflower meadow to support pollinators like bees and butterflies and increase plant diversity.
2. A community orchard offering fresh fruit and natural shade.
3. A children’s play area providing a safe space for young children to play.

These additions will strengthen the garden’s role as a community hub, support wellbeing, and build environmental resilience.

How you can help

To continue expanding the garden and introducing these community-requested features, we rely on donations from supporters like you. Whatever you can give today makes a difference.

Thank you again for your support.