Last Sunday (23rd July) URI-MENA undertook an excursion to Bayyudah, a village close to Salt, not far away from our regional office in Amman. The purpose of our visit was to meet with Ilhan and learn from her about the projects she initiated within her village to create a more environmentally friendly community. During our trip we have seen several places within Bayyudah and came in touch with different people, who are supporting Ilhan’s work.
Ilhan founded the Association Farme´rs Cooperative in Bayyudah and currently they are working to build a Food Village, in which the whole village is involved. She approached about 1000 families in Bayyudah and was able to get their approval and support. The idea is to build an environment within their village, which is eco-friendly and supporting their local community, by developing local family businesses or creating project that benefit all residents, like a community garden.
At the moment several projects are already successfully underway, but many are still in the planning stage. Supported by Desert Bloom CC a group of volunteers from Portugal and Germany will come in November to Bayyudah and work together to build a community garden. Already integrated is a water purification project and the planting of various plants. Further their planning to integrate the local businesses of families, e.g., selling honey from local beehives.
All in all, it was very interesting to see Bayyudah and hear from Ilhan. We are very thankful for her taking the time and sharing with us her projects. We hope she can join URI-MENA as a cooperation circle soon. Further, it was a great experience for all the volunteers from Desert Bloom and URI-MENA to enjoy learning about the local environment, playing football with the children and visiting the Karate training center in Bayyudah.
