A PDC IN A KURDISTANI REFUGEE CAMP: People living with uncertainty

Rowe Morrow December June 2017, slightly revised and photos added August 2018

PDC in refugee camp 1 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Acknowledgements

At the International Permaculture Convergence in England in 2015, a small group of permaculturists decided that they would declare Permaculture as refugee friendly.

The following year in Italy in 2016, the group, all of whom had made some contact with refugees, decided to meet regularly by Skype. Collectively, they recognised that the suffering of refugees was neither just nor necessary and that permaculture had humane solutions for refugees in camps and as well, for those entering new communities.

Since then the group has developed a website and is preparing documents on specific topics related to permaculture and refugees. We gathered information from permaculturists working in camps in Lebanon and and from communities in Italy and UK. The project grew as the scale and issues around refugees revealed themselves as more and more complex.

People have been passionate and supportive. Thank you Debbi Evans. Also thank you Pippa, Elena, Ben, Rita, Thomas and Sarah for their suggestions. Your comments and corrections are invaluable.

Thanks to Jock Noble from WVI for visionary and supportive input in initiating the project. The project was unusual for them but the WVI staff in Irbil used their resources to assist us.

Thanks to Paula Paananen who, as we co-taught the course dealt with the endless details of every day surprises and disappointments. Paula managed most of the bureaucratic demands of the project. Thank you Paula.

Right now, refugees are a subject and interest for NGOs. They attract attention and finances associated with the difficulties presented to host countries in finding humane solutions.

All errors, miscomprehension's and misrepresentations in this report are mine.

Thank you all Rowe Morrow August 2018

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 2 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Summary By definition, any work in refugee camps is confusing. People don't want to be there, they want to be home. Camp managers and NGOs are responsible for the health and feeding of residents and are little skilled in building communities. The sense is often transient despite the fact that the average length of time spent in a camp is 12 years and only 1% or less are resettled.

So anyone working in a camp must like refugees, and must be completely flexible, while knowing exactly what is valuable for the land and for the people, and what must be delivered so lives are ameliorated.

There are few situations where The Problem is the Solution is not more pertinent. Here are some examples of testing situations with their ‘back up’ or contingency plans to maximize the present and future outcomes that are always clearly in your mind.

 Many people cannot easily read written materials and graphics. Ensure that written materials are supported by visual, or concrete models, and they are culturally appropriate for the class.

 If the interpreter is less than adequate, provide roleplays of almost every concept

 If the class is used to a controlling teacher, provide control with methods of obtaining full attention and require periods of quietness and silence.

 When ideas are difficult to transmit, identify the person who has ‘got it’ and ask them to explain it to the class, on the board, or by modeling.

 Always have contingency plans for when the classroom is locked, or the white board disappears, or the driver is late, or no interpreter is available. Be ready to move ahead with the teaching program and finish with competent people.

 When bureaucracy, the camp management or NGO does not supply the materials, or doesn't understand what permaculture can deliver, then find one person in the organisation, and work with them. It is always preferable when the managers understand how the course will reflect on them and be valuable for their future work in camps. In the case of materials, be prepared to simply purchase them yourself if they are important for the learners, e.g. we brought clean drinking water for the class when it was not provided. We also purchased snacks.

 When working with co-teachers check you use the same methods and principles for learning. Practicing learner-centred teaching normally requires a teacher training course. Ensure co-teachers have the same understanding and values for what constitutes good work, or excellence,when people are ill-educated, or illiterate.

 There are many more situations however it is the creative, adaptive and responses of teachers who innovate and have clear goals that result in successful courses.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 3 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Contents Acknowledgements Summary Introduction Recommendations Social, environmental and management challenges, history and culture . The natural environment and agriculture . The Camp Environment . Kurdish Syrian refugees . World Vision International in Kurdistan . The Camp Environment

The venue: its impact on learning

The students and course content . Translation . Interpersonal learning and co-operation Field trip

Assignments . Individual . Group assignment: the camp

Immediate post-course outcomes

Funding

Summary

Appendices

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 4 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Introduction Kurdistan, the most northern province of , is the Kurdistan Autonomous Region(KAR) and is the nearest any have to a country or homeland. This is special status was achieved after a long and bitter war with Iraq and the wounds still fester. And the peace, as events which occurred in October 2018 showed, is tentative.

The Kurds living in Iraq are one of many populations of Kurds in the Middle East. For centuries Kurds have lived in countries with no homeland. Many have been a persecuted ethnic group. Over the centuries ethnic Kurds from , and with small populations in Amenia and Russia developed cultural differences even within the Kurdish language.

For some years, Syrian Kurds, about 500,000+, pushed by the bombing and disruption in Syria have sought refuge in the KAR which offers them unquestioning asylum for life.

No two refugee camps are the same, so generalisations are difficult. The situation in Kurdistan is different from the Kurds in Greece who want to move on to more prosperous European countries or, Africans crossing the Mediterranean Sea wanting to move further north.

Some of the Syrian Kurds will stay in the KAR, others will return to Syria when there is peace, and others want to migrate to other countries in northern Europe, Canada, Australia and USA. The urgency to get papers and to move on is not such a pressure in Kurdistan for the Syrian Kurds as it is in Greece or Italy. This impacted on the PDC course.

We saw several camps. We worked in Gawilan, and visited two others near Dohok and each of these was very different. The camps established for the internally displaced people (IDPs) fleeing the bombardment of Mosul were different again. They were much worse.

I cannot say that the success we had in Gawilan is replicable in all the other camps but I have confidence that when refugees realize the value and potential of permaculture they will finish the course and do excellent work comparable to anywhere else in the world. As always the good results require consolidation through a second course and monitoring for physical and psychological motivation. Without this its impacts will diminish.

The training was at Gawilan refugee camp about 45 minutes on the road to Mosul from the capital of KAR, Irbil. It was said to be an ‘easy’ camp. Certainly it was in many ways but there were other unforeseen challenges that made it difficult.

Work in any camp is hard. However, there are many activities and rewards to make courses more effective and pleasurable.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 5 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Recommendations These recommendations are written with permaculture teachers in mind who hope to work in refugee camps. They are also for NGOs and others, such as camp managers, for whom this type of project may be new. And then they are for those who hope to work in camps.

1. SETTING UP THE PROJECT It reduces potential conflicts and misunderstandings to have:  A clear project document setting out the project goals, materials required and a budget, anticipated outcomes and follow-up. This document must be translated and available to refugees, camp managers and anyone else associated with the project.  A dedicated suitable venue available for the time of the entire course.

Venue considerations Ensure long before courses start that a suitable venue is ready for use. Every camp needs a dedicated ‘learning’ centre. In many camps ’pop-up’ learning centres are integral to community development, conflict reduction and learning new skills. Lacking such a centre seriously detracts from learning and teaching. Refugees in camps provide a superb opportunity for learning of diverse types, e.g. languages, new cultures, children’s care, women’s affairs, vocational courses for future livelihoods. Specifically:

 A room with natural lighting, reasonable temperature and good ventilation  Good acoustics, and if possible, views and access to the outdoors  Different types of seating for different bodies i.e. carpets, cushions, chairs  Has water or drinks available at all times  Commitment to a dedicated venue for the time of the course, longer if possible, by camp management or the NGO.  Every transformation of a camp to an eco-village requires a friendly training centre at its hub. Written agreement by NGO or camp manager to supply basic course materials before the course starts.

Teaching resources secured well before course starts  Interpreter who is capable and knows some agriculture and likes people  Reliable transport to be at the venue on time and prepared to wait after class matters to allow matters to be discussed with participants  Usual books, pens, tape, board, cleaner, clips, masking tapes, scissors etc  Snacks and drinks for refreshments

Knowledge of working days,holidays and daily schedules which if not taken into calculation can curtail the course.

Choose a season when practical work is easy e.g. not the height of summer when there may not be water, or winter with extreme cold.

2. SELECTING THE CLASS This is problematic because it is only during the course that it becomes evident who values and will benefit from learning permaculture. I am inclined to accept any who come and commit to 80+% attendance. However, for many reasons, people cannot always comply with this.

Class composition

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 6 Rowe Morrow, June 2017  Absolute maximum class size of 25 students of any age, religion, sex and prior education; no exclusions.  Before first PDC day, give a short ‘taster’ of content and depth of permaculture  Do not allow the camp manager or NGO to select the students as they may be biased.  Ensure a minimum of 30% women and aim for 50%

3. THE CURRICULUM AND PROCESS It is rarely possible to teach the full course as if one were ‘at home’ and working in a familiar environment and language. However there are core competencies that must be covered. The minimal curriculum is  Water audits of small and larger buildings, and water storage and re-use  Sector analysis to enable accurate design decisions  Soil analysis and knowledge of soil nutrition  Energy analysis  Introductory plant identification and propagation  Basic climate and microclimates analysis to enable valid design decisions  Zones and their placement  Social permaculture as it affects local economy, land rights and ownership and community management.

The international permaculture syllabus has no curriculum, principles or strategies for dealing with traditional land held in common, land without fences, nor for shepherds who cross countries with their flocks of animals as in Afghanistan and Kurdistan. This is a necessary addition for many countries and cultures. It is weak for communal cultures but stronger for individualistic cultures.

4. BUILD A LEARNING COMMUNITY  Trust must be earned, and is achieved through demonstrating reliability, and, building relationships outside class time. We were not able to do this because we had to leave immediately we finished teaching for the day despite this being the best time to chat and discuss challenges.  Also the interpreters were not always willing or able to translate ‘chat’. Make sure there is time to socialize with the students.

PDCs in other cultures especially when the interpreter is inexperienced in language or the subject matter often teeters on border of collapse. When chaos is imminent, learning is difficult to maintain. It is too easy to revert to known formal education practices of control. Instead stay with the following principles of learner-centred education.

5. ADHERE TO principles of learner-centred education  Consult the students even when it is easier to make a unilateral decision  Discuss all problems and their solutions with a person or group of people  Encourage students to find their own experts through group work and listening to each other  Supervise group work to ensure students listen to each other, and are able to speak if they wish to. Frequently ask, “Are you listening to each other?”  Start analysis and design processes as early as possible in the course  Use energisers to target behaviours and desired outcomes  Relax when the situation gets difficult  Keep your mind on the learning outcomes you want to reach  Build trust and confidence through relationships outside class time

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 7 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 6. REFUGEE STUDENTS ARE SPECIAL It is critically important to:  Recognise the farming, social skills and values brought by these Syrian Kurds with their experience of diverse agriculture. They are part of the solution that Kurdistan needs to recover the alarming damage to the agriculture in this country.  Acknowledge that refugees in their minds continue to live their lives in their homelands, and these remain the primary reference for what they do and how they see the future. Build on what they know. Take this into consideration and talk about ‘home’ i.e. in this case, Syria  Identify constructive work for men and boys. In this camp they could have made shelters, pergolas, built shade houses, steps and greywater cleaning systems

7. THE PROGRAM Through adding social activities refugees recover skills and status. Building social and confidence skills gives everyone agency and purpose.

Design and construct kindergartens, child care areas, private women and children’s spaces, tea houses for men and women, neighbourhood meeting places, playgrounds and food growing and other suitable spaces for people to meet and learn.

THE NGO with the funding holds all the power and, without a clear contract to deliver a project, it is advisable to deepen the impact of permaculture by initially:  Deliver the first PDC and see if a second is requested by refugees  Introduce other relevant agencies, such as GEN  Include colleagues from nearby geographic regions to facilitate cheaper and closer travel, local experience and languages

Finally and most importantly  Permaculture will not establish nor continue to be practiced unless  there is a second course to consolidate learning and build up numbers of critical mass for permaculture to take root in the camps, and,  follow up with monitoring and assistance when people strike challenges.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 8 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Social, environmental and management challenges

Kurdistan: Its history, culture and environment

Kurdistan is the northernmost province of Iraq. However the Kurds are 35 million1 people spread over Turkey, Iran, Syria, Iraq and smaller numbers in Amenia and Georgia where, despite having lived there for hundreds of years, even from old Testament times they have been largely treated as second rate citizens. It has been very painful for the Kurds not having their own nation. MAP. People told us that ‘none of their neighbours liked them’.

Kurds in Iraq fought the Iraqi government hard and bitterly to establish their own homeland and suffered severely in the subsequent reprisals. The Iraqis destroyed about 1800 villages. The memory of this destruction and reprisals is very present in the Kurdish temperament today and written into their constitution. The recent bid for independence in 2017 has had severe repercussions on the Kurdish people with an Iraqi clampdown and reduction of some independence.

The fierce unity of the Kurds in Kurdistan was demonstrated by the following story told to us by a driver with a Masters degree from Coventry University: “When ISIS came close to Irbil, the whole civilian population walked out of the city to meet them. There were women and children, Peshmerga soldiers and elderly people. ISIS were halted and forced back.”

They did gain the status of an Autonomous Region, i.e. Kurdistan Autonomous Region (KAR) REF. They have their own government and considerable freedom. Their constitution is peaceful and generous.2

Kurdistan is the potentially the wealthiest province in Iraq with enormous quantities of oil under their soil. In fact it was the first time I have seen oil wells pumping. The result of the wealth was that the government gave a job and good salary to every adult national. It built a new capital city, Irbil, based on the designs of Abu Dabi, or Dubai It has wide, wide streets, wide footpaths and shopping plazas built for car access, high rise buildings of units all with air-conditioning. There are town parks. The city is not built for cycling or walking and most activity happens indoors. In general there are few outdoor recreation facilities despite the national, and indeed Kurdish, love of picnics. So, on public holidays, families drive out along the freeways and stop where there is roadside grass. Here they picnic, and then dance by the roadside. This is wonderful however they merit better town design and planning with traditional structures such as colonades, water, shade and narrow streets with sympathetic parks and outdoor areas. These suit the climate and culture.

1 Wikipedia 2 The Kurdish Regional Constitution within the Framework of the Iraqi Federal Constitution: A Struggle for Sovereignty, Oil, Ethnic Identity, and the Prospects for a Reverse Supremacy Clause Penn State Law Review, Vol. 114, No. 3, pp. 707-808, 2010

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 9 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Today most Iraqi Kurds live in highrise buildings serviced by lifts, often not knowing other people in their buildings. Culture and communication has fractured and suffered. This is by contrast with the Syrian Kurds who were mainly small farmers and retained a more pervasive culture and communications partly due to living on the earth not above it.

The new architecture is an enormous change from the low, intensive mud brick buildings and homes with narrow alleys and bazaars where people interacted and hung out. The traditional architecture with thick, high walls and shaded by grape arbors enabled citizens to live communally in a very difficult climate. Winters can drop to -15oC and summers to +50oC. The old villages of collapsing mud litter the countryside.

Then the province went broke - bankrupt. There were three reasons I heard, and I have no expertise with which to evaluate them. • The price of oil dropped dramatically • The war with Iraq and ISIL e.g. Mosul, absorbed national funds and frightened off investment • The government gave each developer 1/3 of the price of a new development in advance and the developers took the money and left the country without finishing the construction.

So, today the city is littered with half-built buildings like a James Bond set. PHOTO. Without maintenance they are deteriorating. Tiles fall off them. Guttering has holes in reasonably new buildings. Grass is growing in the footpaths and holes in the ground dug for new buildings that never get built.

70% of young people are unemployed and the rest want to leave the country. The government has cut ‘salaries’ and there is little work. The very thin macadam covered roads are being wrecked by huge trucks bringing in food, and everything else from Turkey and Iran. Fruit trees are even come in trucks from Italy. Money is leaching out of the country.

Air pollution, either trapped by low cloud which drizzled intermittently and sat 2-3 metres high over the city making breathing very uncomfortable. The pollution cleared over Nawroz, the new year holiday when truck imports stopped, and built up again when the trucks arrived from Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

Military helicopters and bombers left every day to bomb Mosul, 80 km away. Irbil little reflected the reality of that terrible assault on Mosul as a response to the occupation by ISIL. There were soldiers in the city but not overly so. We found it difficult to estimate the impact of the war in Mosul. It wasn't reflected in the life of the capital Irbil except for checkpoints and the bombers leaving the airport every morning. But, the Mosul IDP camp looked particularly hard and poor. And rebuilding Mosul will not be easy.

The refugee camp where we worked had lookouts and we were shown how close ISIS had come to it in its efforts to take Irbil.

The impact of refugees from Syria and IDPs from Mosul was to overload services and one provincial head discussed the effect of 500,000 refugees in his district on one area alone, health. His budget is inadequate and Kurdish health is deteriorating.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 10 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 We were in Kurdistan in what is perhaps, in terms of climate, the most benign period of the year i.e. springtime when rains are expected and they came this year. March/April is a breathing space between bitter cold and ferocious heat.

And…it is also the season of most holidays, including New Year, and as we were allocated a period of weeks, not working days, it eventuated that 14 days of March were holidays so we scrambled to try to fit the 72 hour international program into the time we had. We had known this before leaving but imagined we would compensate by teaching longer days but that was not to be.

The natural environment and agriculture I cannot speak for the rest of Iraq, however Kurdistan is ecologically ravaged and this continues. I have not visited the mountains but in travelling from Irbil to the north near the Syrian border, the landscape was unrelentingly barren. There are few trees and those are close to small hamlets or farm houses. I was told that trees and forests were destroyed during the wars with Iraq and many before that. People under siege needed wood for heating and cooking.

Daily we crossed the Tigris River where I looked in vain for remnant signs of the Fertile Crescent where humankind sat down and developed ‘civilisation’ as the west knows it. It took place here because of the kind and receptive natural ecosystems for grains.

Today these, now genetically modified, grain crops are the third wave of deteriorating agriculture which began on the original rich plains, forests and deep grasslands that fed vast flocks of sheep and cattle for the ‘wandering’ Kurds who developed a distinctive culture during these times. They had weaving, songs, dance and were jewellers of gold and later silver. They knew their flocks and grasslands as most indigenous peoples know their lands. They lived close to the earth and knew her well.

Today there are only endless, unfenced, un-treed fields of GM wheat fed fertilisers and pesticides with the unhealthy colour of over-fertilisation - blue green and almost luminous. It makes me uneasy for what is happening to rivers and ground water. The trucks and cars roar past.

It is worthwhile drawing attention to the writings of Plato. This desertification of the Mediaterranean has been continuing for a very long time. It is not recent3 as the following quotation from Plato’s Critias tells of the Mediterranean region about 330 BC. Since then it has deteriorated. Although Plato was writing about Greece, it is apposite for Iraq.

T.C McLuhan, daughter of Marshall McLuhan, comments on Plato's Critias. "Human impact upon the Earth was also a subject that Plato addressed. He was a keen observer of the frailty of the planet. He provides us with one of the best descriptions in ancient times of the havoc created by the careless infringement of humankind on the natural order. In the Critias, Plato compares Attica to "the bones of a wasted body...a mere remnant of what it once was". Plato was an astute observer of the ravages of deforestation caused by the wanton felling of trees (which resulted in extensive erosion of the entire Greek countryside) and the overgrazing by goats and sheep. What was once a lushly wooded Mediterranean world had been reduced, largely by human activity (as well as Nature's fury: earthquakes and mud slides), to a generally stark and treeless landscape. Plato reflects upon the loss of the verdant slopes and grassy terrain in this

3 Thank you Alan Yuille for sending me this, and your observations in a private email

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 11 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 disturbing passage from the Critias and struggles to retrieve any remaining potentialities that may rest within the desolate Greek soil." See What Plato said in Appendices

Plato’s description: "What now remains compared with what then existed is like the skeleton of a sick man, all the fat and soft earth having wasted away, and only the bare framework of the land being left. But at that epoch the country was unimpaired, and for its mountains it had high arable hills, and in place of the "moorlands", as they are now called, it contained plains full of rich soil; and it had much forest-land in its mountains, of which there are visible signs even to this day; for there are some mountains which now have nothing but food for bees, but they had trees not very long ago, and the rafters from those felled there to roof the largest buildings are still sound. And besides, there were many lofty trees of cultivated species, and it produced boundless pasturage for flocks. Moreover, it was enriched by the yearly rains from Zeus, which were not lost to it, as now, by flowing from the bare land into the sea, but the soil it had was deep, and therein it received the water, storing it up in the retentive loamy soil; and by drawing off into the hollows from the heights the water that was there absorbed, it provided all the various districts with abundant supplies of springwaters and streams, whereas the shrines which still remain even now, at the spots where the fountains formerly existed, are signs which testify that our present description of the land is true.”4

In the KAR, the result is a monocultural and monotonous landscape, shocking even for an Australian, and the signs of desertification through loose sands and deep erosion gullies were close to the camp. Also, despite a large treeplanting program by the KAR government, there are in Irbil the deaths of hundreds of semi-mature to mature trees planted to make a future green city.

Special Case of Shepherds There are still many shepherds of different ages and sexes with their flocks of sheep and goats wandering the hills, along the roads, and finding grass growing in Irbil and along the highways. Their animals remove any remnant vegetation existing in the soil seed bank. Shepherds, like many other people in poverty, and walking with their flocks, are picturesque and seem to be direct descendants of old Testament tribes. The damage they do is enormous. It could be otherwise.

They could be the regenerators as they walk and sow seed for new grasses and trees. The potential to give them ‘walking schools’ with ecology as the focus and encourage them to revegetate with seed, is very great. The problem could become the solution.

The Fertile Crescent has been deteriorating for so long the Kurds may have no memory or even mythology of a rich and fertile land, nor a traditional agriculture to match it. It is difficult to find good data.

There are almost no trees and this presented a challenge as our model for permanent, sustainable landscapes is a forest or woodland as permaculture requires. The number of species was so tiny to be shocking. The main species were: • Willow • Poplar • Pine • Grapes • Mulberry

4 Plato’s Critias as translated in 1929 by Rev. R.G.Bury, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, reprint Harvard Universty Press, 1981.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 12 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 • Fig And perhaps a few others brought in by recent landscaping or residual such as almonds, plums, peaches and apricots. The understory, which could be seen in city parks, was bulbs and grasses and probably had evolved shaped by the grazing.

The impact of strong winds, great heat in summer and cold in winter make it a harsh environment. The soils of the plains still looked rich and dark in some places - mainly hollows and valleys yet they were almost completely lacking in organic matter.

Water, not wars, will decide if KAR will survive. With the snow from the northern mountains evaporating, it is forecast that the Tygris/Euphrates Rivers will not reach the sea by 2020 VERIFY THIS AND PROVIDE THE REF. As another region dependent on snowmelt5, the loss of these annual waters is grave. Most cities, including the refugee camps, are pumping from aquifers and I could not find out how much the city uses. This water is also being used for irrigation. There appears to be no planning for agriculture for the future times of severe water reduction. NGOs are still promoting crops, such as potatoes as an export product for Europe. Yet the region cannot feed itself and there appear to be no steps being taken to restore ecosystems either the natural which support soil building, water flows and pest management, nor cultivated ecosystems with crops such as dates which may be necessary as they turn to an oasis agriculture.

Apart from this degradation, the country feels as if it is poised on the edge of an escalating disaster.

The Camp Environment The camp we worked in sits on a ridge. There is a rigorous control at the one gate, near the ‘castle’ where the manager works, and then leaves the camp at 3.00 pm. It was formerly grazing land and a sheepfold and collapsing hamlet are close by. The camp is bordered by a tall mesh fence, a deep channel and razor wire. These were defenses built to repel possible ISIS attacks, and of course, function to keep everyone inside. The armed guards are there for the same reasons and they control the exit and entry of everyone.

Water from the camp is pumped from the aquifer. Each family has a 500 litre tank on their roof which gravity feeds to their bathroom and kitchens. The grey water from washing runs in the streets where small children delight and play in it. One stream ends in a deep black oily smelly pool. No water is caught from roofs and no water is recycled through gardens or vegetation. The camp has the capacity to save roof water, about 5m litres a year in the short rainy season. And, because the rainfall is concentrated over a short time, it causes considerable erosion.

The newest arrivals are housed in tents mainly in Section E and others live in small cement block houses allocated according to the number of people in the family. Houses are walled against the broad, dusty or muddy streets with no shade or shelter. Winds laden with dust blow unimpeded down the streets.

Small children constantly fall on the ground and have grazed knees, elbows, and faces as they ran down the streets, pebbles rolled and they could not save themselves.

There are few cars in the camp and some minibuses are used to go to the city, 45 minutes away. Some have found daily work in Irbil. They replace some of the huge numbers of Kurds who left, seeking work outside Iraq. 5 Also Afghanistan, India from the Himalayas

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 13 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Very few families had gardens. We saw two, one with vegetables and one with fruit trees. For greens, and to escape the claustrophobia of the small homes, women and children forage over the grasslands inside the compound fence. They harvest and eat raw or cooked, variegated thistle roots. This is probably significant for their health but only available for a very short time in the year.

A WVI centre distributes food vouchers from World Food Project (WFP) and there is a supermarket next-door where they are redeemed. The food is basic and poor quality. Two narrow lanes of bazaar stalls sell a few vegetables, plastic goods and second hand clothes. Camp commerce is minimal and I do not know whether they had to be licensed by the camp manager. There is potential for many more commercial activities.

There is a power plant at the camp entry with electricity to homes between 5.00pm in the evening and 8.00 in the morning. But it often breaks down. The residents spoke of the suffering when day temperatures rise above 50oC and the water is too hot to use and no way to cool down. It must impact on health. The potential for solar panels for lights and radios is evident, however solar panels are forbidden in the camp even if bought privately, although we saw some in other places.

The special case of rural land without fences All around the camp situated 45 minutes out of Irbil in the countryside, we saw no fences and were told that the land had been combined so tractors could be used for large scale wheat growing. It is likely that in the past, traditional farmers had concepts of communal land ownership. In recent history, say the last hundreds of years, shepherd/farmers moved with flocks across the extensive grasslands and grew small scale seasonal wheat, and so they had, knowledge of seasons, animal and pastures and were highly literate in understanding their connection to the land.

Although we saw no fences, the largescale wheat fields probably dispossessed people from their lands, and from their rights and ability to grow food as a resource not a commodity.

In permaculture the syllabus has no principles or strategies for dealing with land held in common and without fences. For the shepherds who cross countries with their flocks of animals as in Afghanistan and Kurdistan, there is no curriculum. Because so much land has been arrogated by large farmers, tractors and chemicals, the shepherds seasonal stock routes and management of pastures have become a huge pressure on any piece of land where there is grass. Citizens, having lived for a generation or so in towns, are now alienated from the land and do not see the damage. As permaculture teachers, we can offer people in towns a relevant permaculture course, however for those who wander the edges of the huge wheat fields, or the land mined fields, we have little to offer them because they move from summer to winter pastures.

We do have a syllabus for the large landowners however they are difficult to contact. The society is fractured by modernity which isn't working and the years of war and conflict.

So it is important to recognise the farming skills and values brought by the Syrian Kurds with knowledge of a range of diverse species both plant and animal. They are part of the solution that Kurdistan needs to recover the alarming damage to their country not more monocultural crops.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 14 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Life in the camp There is a women’s centre and a youth centre, both demountable buildings at the top of the camp close to the guardhouse, and I question whether either some women or youth would like their attendance there to be noticed, and possibly reported, by the guards.

There are two demountable primary schools and one secondary. Traditional teaching offers the KAR/Iraqi curriculum. Some teachers are employed from among the refugees. One primary school principal, at least, was appointed by the camp manager.

The camp lacks kindergartens, child care area, private women and children’s spaces, tea houses for men and women, neighbourhood meeting places, playgrounds and food growing. It has no suitable venue for people to meet and learn.

Any tiny spare piece of material was creatively used by the refugees. Plastic vegetable boxes were used to protect plants or grow seedlings. People were imaginative and creative but lacked materials.

The biggest social problem the men discussed was having their lives restricted to almost zero activities. Among them were professionals such as teachers, primary teachers, farmers with evident excellent skills, and they had run their families, their finances and were often of considerable standing in their home communities. They fretted and many were depressed by the forced inaction. They are not permitted or perhaps encouraged to take their place in meaningful camp management activities.

One striking fact is that most of these refugees, like those I have met elsewhere, still live in their heads in their former homes. In learning permaculture, they drew pictures and gave verbal pictures of the towns and farms in Syria and not in Kurdistan about which they knew little or nothing of the life. INSERT PHOTO

As with other camps, the birthrate is high. There are many small children who are without the support for their parents necessary to grow up into a modern world.

Some children born in the camp have not seen trees. There was no shade for walls, houses, the water tanks or people.

Kurdish Syrian refugees With the outbreak of violence and civil war in Syria, the ethnic Kurds, who had already been severely discriminated against, were subject to bombing and heightened violence. Many fled, some voluntarily and many would have preferred to stay.

There are designated refugee camps in Kurdistan where Syrian Kurds are housed. As a result, in these camps there is not the same frantic pressure to be processed and move on to Germany and other countries in Europe. Should peace ever be restored in Syria some wish to return there while others may choose to stay in Kurdistan.

Kurdistan is a ‘homeland’ for Kurds from all the countries they live in. Kurdistan has committed to giving citizenship to any Kurds from elsewhere. Yet the country being without physical resources and funds, is not able to establish the new settlers. And, as we found, Kurds who have lived hundreds of years in other countries have developed culture, and often languages, different from those living in the KAR.6

6 An analogy can be made with the establishment of Israel where Jewish people came from many cultures and languages.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 15 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 The Syrian Kurds are active, quick spoken, fast to stand, dance or sing. They talked over each other and often argued - all together. They appeared to lack processes for finding solutions and resolving conflict although they forgave very fast. I wasn't sure whether this behaviour was due to their being refugees, or was usual from Syrian culture. We had expected more depression and withdrawal but found the opposite. Or possibly uncertainty has distorted their usual behaviour. FIND REFERENCE how this behaviour may be due to being refugees. One school principal reported that the children in the camp were considerably more violent than they had been when at home, back in Syria.

By contrast Iraqi Kurds are more measured, slower to argue and have a remarkable non- violent constitution with traditions of never harming visitors despite their fierce fighting and Pashmega forces to attain and retain a homeland nation..

World Vision International in Kurdistan World Vision International has been in Urbil, the capital of KAR, since XXXX. Projects are managed by teams concerned with transport, finance, security, XXXXXX. The employees are mainly from different countries of the Middle East. And then there are project officers who work with staff from each team. As such, they have a culture different from NGOs where employees are all from the same countries and cultures.

We had expected to meet together with these sections when we arrived to go through our needs and likely outcomes. Instead we met with a representative from each section alone and then only with the new, and fairly inexperienced project officer who found it difficult to comprehend, then meet our simple basic needs7. He was inexperienced in development work. This management made our lives and communications very more complicated than it had needed to be.

As a result, no one really understood our needs or the project nor the likely excellent outcomes they could expect from the project which would reflect well on them.

The project was somewhat ambiguous. The Finnish Government had given WVFinland $US160,000 for one year mainly to work with youth. WVFinland gave this money to WVI in Kurdistan to work in refugee camps, mainly for livelihood creation. We never saw the project proposal. We never knew where the Ecovillage project fitted into the project. We didn’t know what monitoring indicators would be applied and WVI did not know what the Ecovillage project could deliver. This is very unusual. I proposed writing a sub-project of what we could hope to achieve and how it could move on in the future but this wasn’t considered necessary. It left us vulnerable to suggestions we had deviated from a project proposal we had never seen.

We met with the monitoring team but did not know what indicators they were using. As experienced in permaculture projects, both Paula and I could have made valuable suggestions to strengthen their work.

As a result it would have been easier to see ourselves as advisers engaged on contracts to deliver a specific part of a project i.e. in this case, a PDC and no more unless requested. We certainly had no control over the project to convert a refugee camp to an ecovillage. It was also evident that the WVI staff was disengaged from this objective.

7 Our minimum needs: Transport, venue, interpreting, time in the camp to deliver the course.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 16 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Other refugee camps: We worked only in the one camp. However one day when the driver got lost we ended up at the gates of a camp for the IDPs from Mosul. Despite their being Iraqi there was an undertow of resentment by many Iraqi Kurds at their having got themselves into a situation with ISIS.

These IDPS were in tents surrounded by heavy security because the government feared they may have left Mosul with ISIS soldiers forcibly escaping with families and harbouring themselves in them. Their suffering from being under ISIS control, and now as IDPs is great. Mosul is still being bombed and civilians dying. Most escape routes have closed down.

In addition we visited two other camps of quite different character. One, near the Turkish border with nearly 30,000 residents and we were told that every type of racket thrived there. We heard of children being stolen, drugs and weapons traded. While a few kilometres away was another settled camp, with gardens and only about 5,000 people with an atmosphere of peace. We didn't have enough time to understand the differences.

Then there are local encampments on the edges of Irbil with say 2,000 people and they all want work and so are in competition with local Kurds. It is a difficult situation where there isn't any work for the local people and now the new people need and are anxious to earn incomes.

Camp management: Each camp has a manager. This is a local Kurdish person and they have enormous formal and informal power. In our camp the manager was known as “The Prince” and he inhabited a ‘castle’ This camp of more than 9,000 people has four or five representatives from each of the Sections A, B, C, D and E who meet once a month to discuss matters of importance to the people. There was no newspaper, website or other electronic media that enabled everyone to know what was happening, make suggestions, or, react to decisions. When we wanted to hold a general meeting of all people who could be interested in participating in a PDC WVI printed 100 leaflets to notify the camp residents about this general session. This seemed very last century. Later some residents told us they would have come if they had seen the pamphlets. Others turned up after talking to the participants. They complained they hadn't known. They also complained that the date and day of their New Year had been put back five days and they were upset by this because “new year didn't feel like new year on another date”.

In our interactions with the camp manager, he was courteous and helpful however particularly occupied with changing his job to work for a NGO instead of a camp. He assured us that he was ‘father’ to the refugees and had started a project for young people to paint the walls of the camp. Several times he presented us with his CV hoping to be employed by us.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 17 Rowe Morrow, June 2017

The venue: its impact on learning

Before arriving in Kurdistan both Paula and I had asked for a dedicated venue for teaching the PDC. There was no venue suitable for teaching in this camp of more than 9,000 people. At first visit, Paula thought we may be able to teach out of doors which is always preferable where there are trees, shade and quiet but these didn't exist in the camp. And the weather turned grey, wet and cold for a few days. Other places were suggested as venues. We looked at the waiting area of the WVI voucher distribution space, the area near the new children’s playground and even the teenager’s sports area. None was suitable.

We ended up with 45+ people in a demountable classroom of the primary school which, fortunately for us, was on holidays for two weeks. The deputy principal was very helpful and attended the classes when he could. The weather had turned cold and sometimes we had a small unflu-ed gas room heater. Some people sat sideways on. We had an excellent big whiteboard. We had no room to paste up work and ideas. The door was beside the teacher and students came late, and then some, came and went all the time. Each time the cold wind blew in. It was also noisy and disturbing for the class.

We had to find another venue when school holidays finished. The principal didn't want the compost or the planting we had built in the grounds. A keen student took the whole compost pile home.

We found UNICEF had finished with two large tents which would have been exactly right for our needs with land outside for practical work and leisure. Although the UNICEF program had finished we were not permitted to use this facility.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 18 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Our last choice was part of the enormous UNHCR hall with appalling acoustics and we found a little corner for our now 45+ students who would finish the course. Every time someone moved a chair, or spoke or laughed the noise was multiplied and reverberated. It was terrible for our lovely activities. We had two big circles and we had a small space of grass outside when the weather was welcoming, and for practical sessions.

As the venue was locked with a chain and padlock, sometimes the person with the key was absent or late. One day we started our class outside the locked gate in the dusty road. We were never absolutely sure that a venue would be available for us as we left to travel to the camp each day. As we had to deliver a 72 hours PDC course, this uncertainty, and the delays affected the quality of the teaching.

The quality of the venue supports or detracts from learning, and permaculture has some particular requirements because we learn with the ethics of Care of Earth and Care of People and these have special venue needs. This one had negative impacts. One day some people came after we had finished and took down the work we wanted to display to the camp management and WVI, and threw it on the floor.

It is hoped that future eco-village project courses will be in dedicated WVI tents which can be moved to other camps when residents are trained as permaculture teachers. However every camp requires a permanent learning hub.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 19 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 The students and course content

Syrian Kurds in this camp all knew each other, or of each other. Some were from the same village in Syria. So they were not shy and understood a great deal more than we did about the social standing and strengths. We began to understand this through the way they chose places to sit and the cultural rights to speak first. The most important, and generally older, people sat in the front row and in front of us, the teachers.

At the introductory morning talk to see what interest there could be in the PDC, about 65 people turned up and we had been told by our project officer to expect about six. We kept bringing out chairs and creating troubling big noises in the cavernous hall. The people filled out forms to indicate their interest after we had discussed the scope of the PDC.

We had difficulties trying to meet the 72 hour qualification because our drivers were often late, did not turn up or got lost. We had one who was exceptional but he wasn't always allocated to us. Then we were told we must be out of the camp by 3.00 pm. The participants agreed to work to 3.00 pm but then we were told that the drivers had to leave by 2.00 pm to meet their working day hours.

The participants were champions. They stayed right through the long morning of five hours with only a short break. Some had children at home. Some had responsibilities in the camp. There was not one complaint. They also sat on chairs because we did not have the usual furniture of thick mattresses for the floors which would have been preferable as classroom furniture.

Everyone joined enthusiastically in the energisers which, with a second’s encouragement, would have become a party.

The first days we brought books or pens from our own money and our own whiteboard. Later these supplies arrived from WVI. Once the whiteboard was forgotten in Irbil office. We began the course at 9.00 am if we could and worked straight through until 2.00 pm with one short break. WVI didn't want to give ‘assets’ i.e. water or a snack and yet many people had had breakfast at 7.00 am. One woman was pregnant and lunch was usually at midday. This was punitive so Paula and I purchased biscuits or fruit out of our own money and brought water from our apartment. Permaculture always models providing quality food at breaks and at lunch. We also bought the notebooks and pens from our own money.

The class thoroughly enjoyed the field visit to a park to see trees, to a dam to look at erosion and sloping land and keypoints, and a city nursery where we were able to have electricity to see slides. As we didn't have electricity in the camp we took advantage of this occasion to show a careful selection of slides of what was possible with permaculture. Thank you for organising all that Paula. On the way home they stood up in the two buses we rented, and danced in the aisles, rocking the buses. PHOTO

As we neared the end of the course we found that we had four or more families and we are not sure whether this is a good idea. The design work seems better when people work in family groups because we could have accepted a greater variety of people into the

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 20 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 course. However they self-selected to attend. I am not clear what criteria would be useful to select people for the second course.

The group was varied in dress from conservative Islamic dress to western styles and no one mentioned it. The Syrian Kurds have a range of acceptable dress and culture. Husbands and wives sat together and discussed together. This was also different from other Islamic countries where women and men sit separately. In Afghanistan this would not be possible. The young people tended take the back rows where they looked at their mobile phones and chatted as young ones do everywhere. They also worked well.

We settled finally with about 45 people and this was too many for translation. Everyone wanted to speak the moment we mentioned a word. So, for example, the word ‘chicken’ encouraged about 20 people to start speaking at once about anything they knew of chickens. It was hard to get a culture of listening to get the end of the sentence or question we posed them. We never quite got there. Uproars were frequent but amiable.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 21 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 We tried the ‘hands up and stop speaking’ technique but didn't persevere with it for long enough. When I brought it back later, students reported they had learned good methods of conflict resolution. This is far from my evaluation of the situation and it was exhausting.

Translation There were no students with sufficient English to help us. In other situations, student assistance is valuable to clarify a word, or assist us to chat with the students during the breaks. Instead we had two translators.

One was primarily concerned about what he was learning and being popular with the learners and took every opportunity to put himself up front and central. For example, he wanted to be in every photo of students with their certificates. And he would also not translate some work and often forgot what he was translating. He had studied horticulture in India and never seemed to grasp permaculture. On the second last day he was recommending plastic grass. Paula was wonderfully supportive often working one-on-one with him.

The second interpreter was excellent. He was knowledgeable, measured and had very good understanding of the content and we could not have managed without him. As teachers, Paula and I developed a collegiate relationship with him. He had a Masters degree from UK and so our methods and approach were familiar and appreciated.

Interpersonal learning and group co-operation We had people working in groups from pairs to six in a group. Everyone worked well and equally. But we didn't have enough time or good interpretation to be able to hear all the input and this was frustrating because there is a need to offer extra content or correct misconceptions at this time when levels of knowledge are revealed.

It was sad that we weren't able to have the lovely conversations with them that are possible when the class is smaller and the translators able and willing. We missed much knowledge and competence. And we weren’t able to build a strong trust with the class.

One lovely aspect of the culture was when the middle aged men, fathers of some of the young girls I called the ‘muses’, once they had worked with their group, went over and spent time clearly mentoring the girls and organising their group. This was unexpected and very appreciated.

The practical sessions fell into disarray when people grabbed materials and hauled them off. This is despite our having said we intended them for the students. But somehow there was a rush and panic.

Most students were literate and certainly all the younger ones were. I am certain a few were not literate or had reverted to illiteracy as happens if there are not enough materials in language, or they do not have the opportunity to read. We had two students with learning difficulties and they were fully accepted by the class. Lack of materials in their language was very difficult and always is.

The level of knowledge was very low for all except a few men and younger women. For example, they believed that ozone deficiency was the cause of climate change. Their science knowledge was lower than year 6 in western schools. This meant having to start explanations at a level below that in most PDCs. Because I have found this previously I

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 22 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 suspect that Islamic schools are not strong in science. I was aware that many could not read tables, graphs or drawings such as elevation or plan view. However when students understood, they quickly shared their understanding with the others.

Permaculture content, as inspired as it is, is useless unless it has relevance for the students. In this case I regularly asked “do you know this?” Often they did and I asked them to explain. Then, “Is this useful?” Sometimes it wasn't and then I didn't continue. However it would be worthwhile knowing their primary school curriculum. Many women had exceptional farming skills and knowledge.

When we first asked them to draw and analyse their tiny refugee camp homes, many ignored this and drew pictures of their former home or farms in Syria. They seemed to regard their present homes as irrelevant. We were concerned this might have brought back painful memories and may have asked for it differently if we had known what they would present

We needed to work more with the idea that, in their minds, refugees are still in their home countries and use these as reference points. It makes sense when they are confined to camps. We researched Syrian agriculture and asked people to draw plans for us and they drew pictures of diverse, integrated gardens and fields showing skill with producing many crops.

These were useful and demonstrated that many participants are the farmers that the KAR needs urgently because of the extreme vulnerability of food supplies in Kurdistan.

The learners raised several common themes:

Environmentally, the short growing season, the cold, winds and global warming are worsening impacts on species, soils and water. The variability of snowmelt presents many problems: • Fast snow melt means floods and even greater erosion then longer dry seasons • Lack of snow gives insufficient melt water to grow traditional crops • Polluted waters • Tree removal continues because people need timber for cooking and building. The icy winter winds are accelerated by bare steep land due to tree removal. The short summer growing season offers a narrow palette of plants and reduced commercial opportunities.

Socially, the problems of movement to cities and inadequate farm incomes reflect a world tendency and are particularly serious in Kurdistan because the government and commercial commerce are undermined. Also land is rented to large landowners and is simply put under the tractor. We could not see where land boundaries existed except by the colour of the wheat and this was just fertiliser inputs. So we saw no farms at all. We did not see any traditional farming except the sheep and goat herding.

The social problems are similar to those in southern European countries e.g. Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain. The farms are too small or too harsh to be economically viable and the work is extremely arduous. Income is uncertain so farmers leave for urban areas seeking income stability. Those farmers who stay are ageing and have insufficient labour. Rationalisation of land leads to agribusiness that results in biocides and, soil, plant and waterway pollution

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 23 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Against this extremely variable climate and dwindling natural resources e.g. snowmelt, permaculture can contribute enormously to land restoration while giving commercial products for the Kurds. We need answers to the following questions:  What happened to farming because of the big struggles for independence from Iraq and the destruction of so many villages?  What was the farming other than shepherd moving sheep and goats across a landscape with no fences?  What form would a diverse sustainable intensive farming take?  How can restoration farming be introduced into restored in this Tigris Euphrates region?

The Syrian Kurds have much to offer to restore Kurdistan and to buffer these effects.

A pressing question of almost every PDC I have offered out of Australia over the last five years is the demand and need for income by participants. It is a question we cannot ignore. Yet it is a driving question of participants in all courses and a valid one. We do not have a syllabus nor answers to this. Perhaps more time needs to be spent on how permaculture strategies can lead to specialist areas of work i.e. opening a nursery, grafting fruit trees, carrying out land shaping for water harvesting, producing commercial quantities of compost and other soil products and so on. And separate training to a quality commercial level. There is not time to do this in a PDC.

Other specific issues: Water quality and water pollution are major problems in the camps and in the Kurdish towns. Everyone drinks bottled water from 350 ml imported plastic. New hills are being created of plastic on the outskirts of Irbil. The whole nation is highly vulnerable to a breakdown in potable water supply. In camps, drinking water comes from aquifers. I tried it and it was fine. However we saw no biological water cleansing works. And the few water specialists we spoke to seemed not to know about it. It was necessary in the camp where drains ran foul water all day.

Soils suffer from a severe ack of organic matter and it is difficult to find any in the camp to feed the soils.. This affects the heat of the soil, and the ability to hold water and nutrients. Very dense planting is required to produce any organic matter.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 24 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Lack of adapted species. These may have existed once but now the fruit trees come from Italy and are expensive. The younger generation has probably never had knowledge of grafting and propagation of forest or fruit trees. That would have belonged to their grand parents. There is an urgent need for a fruit tree propagation on a very large scale.

Rebuilding homes and public buildings The PDC syllabus for buildings has important relevance for this latitude and climate. New structures are necessary and traditional mud, with additions from modern natural builders palette, and careful orientation, with gardens would provide the best response. There is more than sufficient soil with good clay content for building homes and walls as was traditional practice. Walls give shade and protection from strong violent winds.

Food security. We saw woefully inadequate quantities of local food to feed the new nation. And, ‘putting food by’ strategies for winter probably existed in the past but now the trucks bring everything in. The lack of food security is frightening. These problems mean that participants require detailed design information and strategies for growing as perennial food as possible because of climate uncertainties. The need for windbreaks, polyhouses, materials and knowledge of orientation and strategies for organic growing became a necessary part of their course. In their climate they need to ‘pack in’ more food in the same space and introduce greater diversity through redefining the energy and nutrient flows. Those with a special interest in forestry were able to combine tree systems with windbreaks.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 25 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Polyhouses seem the logical structures to buffer the extremes of heat and old, however it isn't clear that polyhouse hydroponics, nor vegetables can cope with the extremes of 15oC to +50oC. We need more reliable information from other similar countries where they have been used.

Design proved an invaluable concept for the camp and the course. Most students fairly rapidly saw the relevance of design to manage the limited natural resources and increase resilience and plant outputs of the campsite. Several mentioned that they wished to use the design process if they returned to their Syrian farms, or they can farm elsewhere in the future.

These situations provided • Challenges to the ‘normal’ permaculture syllabus written primarily for temperate countries and for growing food and meeting energy and water needs. • Challenges culturally, because these students usually learn by rote as classes are big and there may not be effective teacher training. They are not used to being quiet and consulted. At first a few students told us to keep the class quiet however we worked towards self-learning, engagement and self-regulation. • Some of the necessary practical work which must be carefully structured.

We used practical teaching strategies to reinforce learning and to break discussions when they became intense. So we held sessions, using everyone’s experience in • plant propagation, • tree planting, • making keyhole beds • small ponds • finding contours • compost making

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 26 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Despite some students having experience in farming, often they had not actually done permaculture practical work and young students had missed being offered opportunities. These practicals were valuable times to reinforce learning concepts and personal follow- up.

Making contour lines and swales I had thought would be self-evident for people from mountains yet when accompanied with a contour map they struggled but later they said how much they had learned when putting the practical and theory together. This same reaction occurred in Afghanistan and SW Ethiopia; countries of steep slope.

Difficulties with graphics Most students had missed out on learning art or drawing and so our assessment of their design work was by their talking through their designs where it became apparent they had understood whole site water management and nutrient flows, and resource re-use. I had met this in other countries where students were illiterate or partially literate and had difficulties in reading graphics of almost any type.

It isn't appropriate to teach the equivalent of ‘landscape architecture’ drawing skills in these classes. Here, teachers must accept the drawings and then ask for interpretation. There is always the danger that we will misread drawings unless we are ‘walked’ through them.

Impact of Islamic culture All the students were practicing and devoted Moslems. There was a mosque in the camp and most people attended it on Friday and Saturdays; the holy days. We knew through their dress which students followed narrower or broader . But it did not impact in any way on our teaching or their learning.

Kurds are known to be pragmatic Moslems and their Constitution emphasises freedom of religion and includes Christians and other groups. See Appendix

We were attentive to and careful about cultural mores when offering Energisers. However we found that although girls and young men mainly separated, it wasn't rigid. This was in contrast to Afghanistan. So no Islamic culture can be taken to be the same as another. History and culture give different modes of behaviour.

Working in a foreign language I was again reminded that words and pictures need reinforcement. This is especially true when students are working with English as a second language. English was absolutely minimal although they enjoyed recognising some words such as ‘mother’. I used special techniques of demonstration, redefining vocabulary, alternative definitions, drawings and feedback through asking questions of students. These techniques are highly dependent on the translators. Where the translator doesn't understand these methods learning is hindered. It was often hindered.

I used proven techniques to: • check that vocabulary is understood before continuing with information • give alternate definitions of a word

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 27 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 • use hands to illustrate eg. rain came down….and use gestures where-ever possible • ask others to explain their idea of the concept, word • draw it • use a model • ask questions of students to elicit understanding Giving people time to process information. •

On reflection I often lapsed and forgot this last one - giving time for processing information- because of the pressure of time on us. I would want to be more conscious of it next time.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 28 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Field trip There was only one. We had two buses8, each with about 24 people and took everyone to see three sites around Irbil.  A valley with a dam and eroded walls due to goats  The Irbil city nursery and, there, also to see some slides of permaculture  A city park to get the feel of a ‘forest’ This was appreciated and students asked many questions and later talked about what they had seen.

Assignments There were two mandatory assignments: • Personal, individual design of their housing in the camp • Group design of the whole camp site Both had to be presented with analysis and conceptual design drawings. Everyone worked on both.

1. Individual designs of their own homes At first the students brought analytic drawings of the houses and farms they had had to leave in Syria. We worked hard to have students realise that their tiny, ugly camp residences could be analysed for later designing a more comfortable and productive environment. By the end of the course some students brought models of their homes, and some excellent designs. However, for psychological or practical reasons many of the students had difficulties in designing their tiny spaces. Indeed small spaces are some of the most difficult to design and transform.

The following photos show a sample of students presenting how they had transformed or retrofitted their homes in the camp. In impressive presentations some students explained nutrient and water flows. These ‘verbal’ presentations showed what students had learned and absorbed. In this case the quality of the work was mixed. I was not present at these presentations as Paula sat with each person and their drawings. She felt that only 50% would pass a design test.

I attribute this low figure to our inability to: • convey information clearly via translation • carry out constant monitoring what students are learning. • The class size was too big to do this well and • we had insufficient time to listen to each one and read their drawings.

8 Even organizing the hire of two buses was very difficult as was co-ordinating the trip. Paula worked hard for this to happen. It was fraught with many obstacles.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 29 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Paula recommended that the students not reaching a standard instead receive a certificate attesting to their completion of an Introduction to Permaculture and the rest to receive a Certificate of Permaculture Design.

In retrospect, I would strongly recommend that everyone receive a Certificate of Permaculture Design no matter what the perceived standard. And make sure they are given the opportunity to complete extra work within a month or so then have their certificates signed off and their names listed in the register. It is too destructive of the group and the individual to give two levels of certificates.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 30 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 2. Group designs for the refugee camp After completing theory of Zone V, students formed six groups and worked in their assignments for the rest of the time. They had already completed an analytic study of the sectors, the water, the social needs for spaces and use of the grass land which we were told was all available for the camp design.

Groups worked well on their designs and demonstrated knowledge of permaculture principles. Each person in each group presented part of the site analysis and the final design. These presentations were highly variable but it was a personal triumph for some shy students to stand up and present. It also demonstrated the ability of some otherwise not noticed students.

The final designs were of a high quality and solved most of the problems of the site. See photos. The plans showed how the site determines many design solutions such as water

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 31 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 capture from building roofs and its placement for later use. It also determined the windbreaks. There was a big difference and major improvement in design work in the larger group design where people learned from the individual design, and learned from each other.

Immediate post-course outcomes

Of the 60+ people who originally showed interest in the course, some young boys sent by the camp manager, lost interest and left. A few others spoke to us of their other responsibilities such as part-time work for an NGO. We settled with 45 students. They all took seeds and cuttings and we have photos of some of the early germination rates.

We did our own immediate evaluation which,as usual, was inflated by the presentations, relief and group enjoyment of learning together. However they are yet to be translated. The results will be attached to the Appendices.

WVI did an evaluation as well. Here is an extract email report.

“In contact with one refugee they are requesting further courses and learning. I have also been sent photos of germinating seedlings. It is frustrating that we have so little contact with the graduates. It would be valuable to include them in the world Permaculture family

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 32 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 For the longer term, Paula and I have foreseen a second PDC with a new group of students. Follow up to hone skills with the some of the very keen students from the first PDC and then a teacher training of students chosen from the first two courses. These trainers could be monitored as they extend the project into new camps. Other students from the two courses can develop small scale industries from permaculture and then teach other people in their own camp.”

Funding We had no prepared budget however the $US160.000 for one year, and if satisfactory, to be extended for another three years, was more than sufficient for a first age of a project to convert a refugee camp into an ecovillage. But, we never saw the project proposal which we understand was primarily about youth and livelihoods, and how the budget was implemented. A permaculture friend in Washington, USA, donated Paula and I $US500.00 to use on the project however we were not able to make sufficient close contact and build relationships with the refugees to determine how it would be most useful. Both Paula and I used our own money to buy project materials such as snacks and books for the refugees. I did not claim for this. We also paid for the final drawings to be copied professionally and this was important in showing how well the refugees had designed the camp.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 33 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 Summary: what was learned The long days were hard and yet goodwill and co-operation made them easier. The focus of permaculture in refugee camps is critically important even if only to stay or buffer the worst of global warming and climate change. The course was important in giving value and importance to the refugees and making them central to the project. They discussed and evaluated the knowledge avidly. They reported discussions, and carrying out water audits. They rose to the task of designing the camp.

Design is critical to increasing sustainability and abundance and in camps refugees need improved skills and strategies because these will potentially impact on livelihoods and incomes. To offer courses without design is to impoverish the student’s ability to deal with future challenges.

Despite the fact that the PDC curriculum is challenged by melting snow and rising temperatures in these ecosystems, the PDC continues to be valuable in giving people knowledge to act appropriately and effectively to save lives and landscapes. • Where temperatures are not too low, solutions to many problems lie in ‘restoring forests’ of relevant types from low scrub to taller coniferous. • The permaculture approach of water harvesting in a multitude of small catchments and working with watersheds is critical in the short term for the Tigris/Euphrates Rivers and yet has a large labour and costs. Without this knowing how to work with diminishing water resources, people need to start leaving the region now. • Income generation is a natural and necessary major preoccupation, and new sources, or greater stability and variations of older ones, need thoughtful consideration. Permaculture offers some which also solve the serious environmental challenges  People have relatively recently met almost all their needs within the region’s resources is traditional could be restored, widened and reinforced.

I came up against gaps in the adequacy of the permaculture curriculum. I find the PDC to be almost perfect knowledge for repairing earth and yet every now and again there’s a black hole. In this case, it is what does the conventional curriculum have to offer when the icemelt that feeds the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers dries up. When the rivers do run, there are very often huge late floods as happened this year after our visit.

We learned that people refer to their home country for corroboration of their new information and we needed knowledge of that country i.e. Syria, to make the bridge between the country left, and the new one. When the host country is so degraded as Kurdistan is, then Syrian agriculture seems a better model for Kurdistan.

Although many people had practical skills, some simple techniques such as planting trees, preparing materials for propagation and setting out a garden, were often inexact skills and result in unnecessary losses. The level of practical skills was lower than I had anticipated.

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 34 Rowe Morrow, June 2017 A deeply satisfying finding was that such a mixed group in ages, confidence and ability could work harmoniously and respectfully together to achieve excellent outcomes.

Appendix I The enlightened constitution of Kurdistan

Appendix II Email report from the camp evaluation by WVI

PDC in Kurdistan refugee camp 35 Rowe Morrow, June 2017