Greening The Desert Project

Greening The Desert Project

The Middle East Arid Climate Permaculture Demonstration Site

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Permaculture for Pastoralists in the Jordan Valley – Part II

November 5, 2014 By Alex McCausland 28 Comments

Note: If you haven't already, you can read Part I here. A Dead Sea Valley family home with their typical front ‘lawn’. Photo © Craig Mackintosh The title may lead you to think we are talking about people who manage pasture or have access to wide areas of rangeland. In fact, we are talking about people whose parents and grandparents were nomadic pastoralists that ranged flocks of animals across vast areas of land with the changing of the seasons. Rangelands in the Middle East were … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project Update Tagged With: Aid Projects, Biological Cleaning, Building, Community Projects, Compost, Land, Plant Systems, Soil Rehabilitation, Urban Projects, Waste Systems & Recycling, Waste Water, Water Conservation

My Visit to the Greening the Desert Sequel Site, November 2013

November 30, 2013 By Miles Durand 5 Comments

The Jordan Valley Permaculture Proejct (aka ‘Greening the Desert – the Sequel’) in November 2013. (Photo: Geoff Lawton) I experienced a very diverse range of activities during my two weeks in Jordan, teaching a tree care course and helping in the farm activities, at the PRI Jordan Valley Permaculture Project (aka 'Greening the Desert - the Sequel' site) at 400 metres below sea level in the Dead Sea Valley. I also took side trips to a wadi on the edge of the Dead Sea, and an organic farm at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project Update Tagged With: Aid Projects, Bill Mollison, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Food Forests, Food Plants, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, middle east, Plant Systems, Soil Rehabilitation, Trees, Urban Projects

Rough, Ready, But Very Real – a November 2013 Update on the Jordan Valley Permaculture Project (aka ‘Greening the Desert – the Sequel’ Site)

November 19, 2013 By Geoff Lawton 29 Comments

Project from above, featuring a garbage-accumulating fence edge Well, you would be hard pressed to find a tougher block of land -- a 400m below sea level, West facing slope, in an extremely hot, arid climate, with extremely poor, shallow highly alkaline top 'soil', covered in rocks, with a limited water supply and in a mostly Palestinian refugee-populated village. When we first started working on the site local farmers thought it was just ridiculous to even try to produce any kind of result on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project Update Tagged With: Aid Projects, Animal Housing, Biological Cleaning, Building, Community Projects, Compost, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Energy Systems, Fencing, Food Forests, Land, Plant Systems, Soil Conservation, Soil Rehabilitation, Trees, Urban Projects, Village Development, Waste Systems & Recycling, Water Conservation, Water Harvesting

Jordan Valley Permaculture Project Update: Post IPC Happenings

November 11, 2011 By Dan Lewin 3 Comments

An aerial view of the site Although the landscape here could be seen as a model for scarcity, what there is an abundance of is rocks. The baked dusty earth barely passes for soil and during the summer there isn’t rain here for over six months. With valuable agricultural resources seemingly at a minimum, rocks can be incredibly valuable in the design of a sustainable human settlement. In the case of the Permaculture Research Institute of Jordan’s site (PRIJ), rocks have formed the main building … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project Update Tagged With: Aid Projects, Building, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Irrigation, Land, Plant Systems, Regional Water Cycle, Soil Rehabilitation, Soil Salination, Storm Water, Swales, Terraces, Waste Systems & Recycling, Waste Water, Water Conservation, Water Harvesting

Letters from Jordan: ‘Greening the Desert – the Sequel’ Site Contrasts Against Jordan Insanities

November 8, 2011 By Craig Mackintosh 19 Comments

Staring into the eyes of the future of Jordan, one wonders how things could be.... All Photographs © Craig Mackintosh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYk21PLKGgg Al Jazeera's very recent feature of the new 'Greening the Desert' site Introduction Why did the photojournalist cross the road? It sounds like the beginning of a joke, and, in a way, it was. I was standing at a busy road in Amman, Jordan, contemplating crossing. I say 'contemplating' as there were three lanes in each … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project Update Tagged With: Aid Projects, Community Projects, Consumerism, Deforestation, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Plant Systems, Regional Water Cycle, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Soil Rehabilitation, Urban Projects, Water Conservation, Water Contaminaton & Loss, Water Harvesting

Jordan Valley Permaculture Project – August 2011 Photo Update

August 30, 2011 By Craig Mackintosh 16 Comments

Latifa inspects project development from a unique vantage point It's been just over a year since I've visited the Jordan Valley Permaculture Project (aka 'Greening the Desert - the Sequel') site, and I'm keen to check out progress when I visit next month (September 2011). In the meantime, Geoff, who is in Jordan now to help organise the upcoming Tenth International Permaculture Conference & Convergence (IPC10), has sent through a few pictures I can share today. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project Update Tagged With: Aid Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Irrigation, Land, Livestock, Plant Systems, Soil Rehabilitation, Urban Projects, Waste Systems & Recycling

Update on the Jordan Valley Permaculture Project (aka ‘Greening the Desert, the Sequel’): “Leave All Expectations Behind”

February 19, 2011 By Christian Douglas 18 Comments

I felt fully prepared leaving for Jordan three weeks ago. Equipped with a 55ltr backpack laden with books, a compost thermometer, a dumpy level as hand luggage, and a few well-chosen words of advice from former patrons of the land: "Leave all expectations behind." Little did I know that amid my preparations and the excitement of the journey, I would also find myself pondering an entirely different kind of departure—how to extricate oneself from complex commitments, much like figuring out … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Project Update Tagged With: Aid Projects, Building, Community Projects, Compost, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Land, Plant Systems, Soil Conservation, Soil Rehabilitation, Swales, Terraces, Urban Projects, Water Conservation, Water Harvesting

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Permaculture Courses

  • SATUDAY-pdc Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC) 11th September-15th of November 2025 $0.00 – $1,600.00
  • Greening-the-Desert,-Jordan--Phase-II Jordan Phase II 5th October - 4th December 2025 $300.00
  • 2 Weeks Permaculture Internship 23rd of November - 4th of December 2025 $400.00 – $2,600.00

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The Jordanian Association for Quality Environment is a non-profit organization under the umbrella of the Ministry of Environment.

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