The heart of our project at Al Numeira Environmental Association is to raise and increase environmental awareness among the local population. Indeed, the South Ghor community is facing issues and challenges concerning the environment, and the use of natural resources in the area. The natural resources are including water, building materials, food, soil…
Water
Jordan is one of the driest countries in the world, and water is a scarce resource, particularly in South Ghor where we receive approximately 75mm of rain per year. Due to mismanagement in all sectors and a continued rise in the population, scarcity has increased to an alarming level. Therefore, it is imperative that changes are made in the handling of water resources if we want to continue to inhabit the region.
Al Numeira Environmental Association hopes to alleviate this resource constraint for individuals in South Ghor through the use of greywater management, rain-water harvesting, and permaculture.
Building materials and techniques
Al Numeira Environmental Association is also promoting a more sustainable way of building and furniture making, through the use of recycled materials like wooden pallets and through the rehabitation of a traditional sustainable mudbrick house, with local resources.
Using local resources as raw materials means being more self-sufficient in terms and provision and skills, and less oil-dependant for the transportation of these materials. Recycling is also taking advantage of resources that would have been wasted otherwise.
Food
Due to social, economical and political reasons, South Ghor community has been deeply transformed these last decades. The population has left their lands, which they were cultivating, and the current active generations are now relying on industrial low-quality products in terms of food. By promoting a small-scale diversified traditional agriculture model, we want to encourage the young generations to take care of their fields again and to feed themselves. This way, we believe that we can build a community which would be more resilient in the long term, help the area to stay or become greener, prevent the oil dependency and low quality food from industrial providers, and give the farmer a sense of accomplishment, of attachment to the earth and its natural features.
Soil
To grow food, the farm activities need a good quality soil which can be deteriorated when industrial groups have been occupying the area or when dryness has taken advantage from the desertion of the land. A sensible and reasonable use of the resources for soil rehabilitation is composting, as soon as we have a production of organic waste.
Education
In order to implement these practices in the local population lifestyle, Al Numeira Environmental Association is willing to give an example and a space where local people can learn from the experience. Numeira believes that the youngest generations have the power to change and to adjust their behaviors for a more sustainable lifestyle. This is why the NGO is focusing on teaching the school students through an environmental school club.
Al Numeira Environmental Association 