Women’s workshop at Hêvî Community Garden strengthens food security

Yesterday, team members Hamid and Othman led a women’s workshop in Hêvî Community Garden, bringing together beneficiaries to learn, share and grow in community.

The session began with an introduction to the work of the Lemon Tree Trust, our vision and our ongoing efforts across refugee and IDP (internally displaced people) camps. In places where support can be limited, our focus remains on building gardens as spaces of nourishment, belonging and dignity.

Survivors of war rebuild lives through gardening

Our beneficiaries, our women gardeners, are survivors of war. Forced from their homes in Syria with their families, they are now rebuilding their lives in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In the face of displacement and uncertainty, the simple act of tending to plants offers stability, purpose and hope.

Many bring their children with them to the garden each day. Together, they are learning essential skills for the future, while sharing moments of joy that remind families that life continues despite loss.

Many women shared how difficult the growing season had been with such high temperatures, but also how much hope they felt in learning new ways to protect their crops. As Hamid reflected: “Women often tell us that gardening helps them forget, if only for a moment, the pain of displacement. Yesterday, participants spoke about the happiness they feel when they see something growing in the soil.”

Greening ‘accidental cities’ for people and nature

The workshop also explored practical, sustainable solutions. Topics included organic agriculture techniques, avoiding harmful chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and strategies for managing drought, extreme heat, pests and disease. Above all, the workshop emphasised the sense of responsibility and shared resilience that gardening cultivates, inspiring women to lead in food security for their families and wider communities.

In Gawilan camp, home to more than 10,000 people and around 2,400 families, most originally from the Syrian cities of Al Hasakah and Aleppo, the Hêvî Community Garden is more than a plot of land. It is a sanctuary for healing, nourishment and hope. Here, 92 raised growing beds and newly planted trees provide fresh food and shade, while also encouraging biodiversity. Each plant contributes to greening the camp, restoring the environment and creating a place where both people and nature can thrive.

Our long-term commitment to displaced communities means creating gardens that nourish both people and the environment. In refugee and IDP camps, these ‘accidental cities’ are transformed into green, resilient spaces that support food security, wellbeing and biodiversity. By encouraging biodiversity, we welcome pollinators, natural pest control and resilience to fragile ecosystems, all of which strengthen the lives of the people who live there.

Support our work – help us grow hope and dignity

Workshops like these connect directly to our mission: improving mental health and wellbeing, empowering women, restoring environments and ensuring access to fresh, nutritious food. They also contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including Zero Hunger, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Life on Land.

But to continue this work, we need your support. With your help, we can run more workshops, distribute more seeds and trees, train families in sustainable practices and expand community gardens that provide both food and healing.

Donate today and help us grow hope, dignity and food security in displaced communities. Together, we can make refugee and IDP camps not just survivable, but liveable.

Thank you for your support.