Meet our community gardeners Ahin, Khadija, Nasreen and Fatima
The Azadi Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp is overseen by Aveen (left) and her community gardener team, pictured above. We asked them some questions to find out more about what they like doing when they’re not gardening.
Q: What is your favourite plant / flower?
A: Both Khadija and Fatima’s favourite is jasmine. Ahin loves tulips and Nasreen prefers camomile.
Q: Do you like to cook? And if so, what’s your ultimate ‘comfort’ meal?
A: All but Ahin love cooking, with favourite dishes of malfof (Ahin), maqloba (Khadija), pizza (Nasreen) and dolmades (Fatima).
Q: Do you have a hobby outside of work?
A: When they are not helping in the garden or working on Lemon Tree Trust projects, Ahin loves learning maths and English, Khadija loves to write, Nasreen spends time learning languages and Fatima loves reading and listening to music.
Q: If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
A: Ahin would like to visit Canada for its peace; Khadija would like to settle in the region and achieve her dream; Nasreen would travel to Italy for its beauty and nature and Fatima would like to go to Germany because she feels a close affinity with its culture.
Meet some of our other team members
Aveen Ibrahem is Operations Manager at Lemon Tree Trust, overseeing our community gardening and cooking programmes across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Her work supports activities in Azadî Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp, as well as outreach and coordination across the nine camps where Lemon Tree Trust currently operates. Having lived in Domiz 1 … Continued
Inside the polytunnels at the Hêvî Community Garden in Gawilan refugee camp, Garden Manager Othman Qewas carefully selects fruit trees and flowering plants grown from seed. Joined by Hamid Abdullah, Lemon Tree Trust’s Horticulture and Landscape Consultant, the plants are loaded into the car before setting off to visit families across the camp. As part of our ongoing children’s outreach programme in Gawilan camp, … Continued
Bringing together residents to celebrate the home gardens they have grown, tended and transformed over the past year, Lemon Tree Trust’s 2026 Annual Garden Competitions have taken place across nine refugee and IDP (internally displaced people) camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This year’s competitions introduced a greater emphasis on welcoming new participants alongside … Continued