Agriculture & Autonomy in the Middle East

In the predominantly Kurdish regions of Syria and Turkey, known respectively as Rojava and North Kurdistan, a groundbreaking experiment in communal living, social justice, and ecological vitality is taking place. Devastated by civil war, the Middle East is often seen as a place where little more than a cessation of hostilities can be hoped for. But Rojava and North Kurdistan have set their sights much higher. What started as a movement for political autonomy has blossomed into an attempt to build a radical pluralist democracy on the principles of communal solidarity — with food security, equality for women, and a localized, anti-capitalist economy at its core.

SUR: The Turkish state’s systematic destruction and commercialization of a World Heritage Site

it needs to be stated that in almost half of Sur, apart from the destroyed buildings, the original street fabric and the insular-parcel integrity have been irreparably lost. Together with the forced exodus and forced expropriation, it leads to the eradication of the traditional-social life, trade forms and urban social memory, developed over thousands of years, the change of propriety, the change of the demographic structure and the interruption of cultural continuity. The ongoing “Tigris Valley Project” is another big threat to the Word Heritage Site Diyarbakir outside of the fortress, which should not be underestimated. If all planning of the Turkish government would be implemented, the World Heritage Site of Diyarbakir would completely lose its core values and its uniqueness. The result would be a new old city with a completely new population, which has no relation to the cultural heritage of Diyarbakir, and a big commercialized area serving only big investments and profit, while erasing the local culture.

Newroz Bakery Co-operative

The bakery has been working well every day, and the bread is being distributed to everyone in the area. The bakery has made 5 million SYP in 6 months. The families of martyrs have received 3 million, and the rest have been used to buy more necessities for making bread such as new machinery and flour.

7,000 Trees for Raqqa

As part of the tree planting campaign launched in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa in mid-March, the Civil Council has planted 7,000 trees in the former capital of the self-proclaimed ISIS caliphate.