People’s Resource Centre invites you to a conversation between environmental activists and practitioners of urban farming in India, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine.
As the world battles climate and health emergencies, we need to rethink the ways our society and economy is functioning. Self-sufficient cities is not only a slogan but a reality we need to work towards, of which urban farming is an essential element. In different parts of the world, communities have been practising farming in their places of habitat, arising out of different needs and contexts. In India, this need has come out of the health and environment reasons which have a wide systemic impact on the cities and its infrastructure. While in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, amidst popular uprising, raging conflict and occupation, communities and activists have used this not only as a way for survival but also as a way of resistance and defying occupation. Millions of people in the region are living in refugee camps where they are growing food on small patches of land or tin boxes not only to feed their families but also to preserve their seeds and technique and not give in to corporatisation of farming. For them, it’s a political act.
Speakers
- Lina Isma’il is an environmental activist working on community development and food sovereignty in Palestine.
- Khaled Hammoud is an architect and environmental activist based in Lebanon.
- Serge Harfouche is a farmer and environmental activist based in Lebanon.
- Abdallah Alkhatib is a Palestinian-Syrian human rights activists and an urban farmer at a time when his city is besieged by the Syrian regime.
- Ansar Jasim is an activist working on transnational connections between CSOs and popular movements in West Asia.
- Madhuresh Kumar is with National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) India
Hosts
- Rajendra Ravi is the Programme Director of People’s Resource Centre
- Nishant is a member of People’s Resource Centre and works on urban systems and alternatives.
Note: Language interpretation and a live summary (in the chatbox) will be available in English and Hindi.
