LTT FIELD NOTES: April 2020

Coronavirus Covid-19: our response

We are living in strange and worrying times. The Coronavirus Covid-19 does not discriminate and globally we are all feeling its effects. Refugee and IDP camps are very densely populated with no parks or public green space. One of our goals is our focus on home gardens and this is now more important than ever.

We do not currently have any confirmed virus cases in any of the camps in which we work, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. However, there are confirmed cases in the large cities in the region.

Cities and camps across the Kurdistan region have now been closed – no one can enter or leave and a curfew is in place. The good news is that food deliveries are continuing but many people have lost their jobs and the full effects have not yet been seen.

We are working closely with our team to regularly monitor the situation and are looking for ways we can safely continue to celebrate and encourage home gardening in our communities.

🌿 We are practicing social distancing
Camp management has declared a "shelter-in-place" policy which means that residents are only allowed to leave their homes to purchase food and medicine. We have gardeners who are continuing to grow essential food in our community garden in Domiz 1. The garden currently remains open to individuals who are cultivating produce to distribute to vulnerable families so that it does not go to waste.

🌿 We have postponed our annual garden competitions until further notice
We know camp residents will be disappointed and so we are finding ways to safely gift flower and vegetable seeds so that people can still plant in their home gardens.

🌿 We are telling people about Coronavirus Covid-19
We are supporting the efforts of camp management and the local government to educate camp residents about the urgent need to stay at home, practice social distancing and maintain good hygiene during this crisis.

We are coordinating a virtual home garden photo exhibition instead of holding our annual garden competitions this spring. We are asking camp residents to share photographs of their plants and home garden spaces and we will share as many as we can on our website and via our social media channels.

In the past few days alone, we have been asked by the local police force, mosque and members of the Kurdistan Peshmerga living in Domiz 1 camp for seeds, plants and trees. We know that gardens and gardening improve mental health and help keep people busy. We are helping as many people as possible to create home gardens at this time.

🍋💚 Thank you for your continued support 💚🍋

Support our work

A secure online donation is the most effective way to support our work.

How your donation makes a difference:

£5 / $5 can provide a family with a basket of nutritious produce harvested from our Lemon Tree Trust community garden
£10 / $10 can fund a Home Garden Starter Kit containing food and flower seeds and ideas for planting at home
£20 / $20 can give a family a lemon tree providing shade and fruit
£100 / $100 can support our wider gardening activities in camps across the region
£1,000 / $1,000 can help us build a new community garden in a refugee or IDP camp

Thank you for your support. Together we are bringing beauty, dignity and opportunity to communities left ravaged by the effects of war.

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