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Make Rojava Green Again Picture Gallery November 2018

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Over the last two weeks we finally planted the first badge of olive trees on the area of our academy. The trees are still small, but already change the appearance of the place a lot. We got the trees from a nearby tree nursery. When the war in Afrin was getting more intense many olive trees were cutted as saplings and brought to the other parts of Rojava, also to that tree nursery. In that way we see on the one side of Rojava the Turkish is brutally acting against people and nature – olive orchards have been burnt down – on the other side we try to contribute to the reforestation of the region.

A New University, Born in the Chaos of War

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The university has academic departments in petroleum, petrochemical and agricultural engineering, Kurdish literature, fine arts, education and women’s studies. Its main campus is in Qamishli, a city on the border with Turkey. Subjects related to petroleum are taught at a facility in Rumeilan, 40 miles farther east in the region’s oil-producing area.

The theory and practice of the Kurdish Women’s Movement: an interview in Diyarbakir

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We took the rare opportunity to talk to an editor of the Jineoloji Journal in Diyarbakir about theoretical and practical activities of the Kurdish women’s movement in Turkey. The journal is one of the few remaining initiatives by the Kurdish movement that have not been shut down in the wake of the 2015-2016 military offensive by the Turkish state on predominantly Kurdish cities or otherwise repressed since the 2016 failed coup attempt. The latter was followed by massive repressions and the imposition of Ankara-appointed trustees in charge of Kurdish-majority municipalities (kayyum).

Rojava’s Electric Generator Co-ops

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One of the power generator co-operatives in Qamishlo is Jiyan Co-operative. The generator started work a year and two months ago [September 2017]. It has more than 150 members, and the price for a share is 25,000 SYP [around £40]. The project cost 7,400,000 SYP [around £11,500]. The House of Co-operatives donated a fair amount of the cost. The generator needed other equipment in order to operate, including a tablet which cost 400,000 SYP [£620], a battery that cost 100,000 SYP [£155], some cables and other items.

Nisrîn Co-operative, a Model of Communal Labour

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Nisrîn is a co-operative society for cleaning products that was formed in Qamishlo five years ago by seven members who collaborated to serve the area of Hilaliyeh, which is far away from the market. In these times there was a lot of monopoly. Each participant contributed with 75,000 SYP. They bought cleaning products from the market, put some shelves up, and started selling them for lower prices than in the market.

Thoughts on Rojava: an interview with Janet Biehl

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Do I think this system in Rojava is purely as Bookchin envisioned it? Not purely, but perhaps that may lie beyond the abilities of real human beings. But the people are wrestling with problems of implementation that Bookchin, as a theorist, never foresaw, and I think that even the mistakes that people in Rojava might make are relevant to the future importance of these ideas.

How we Built Jinwar Women’s Village in Rojava/Northern Syria

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The women of Jinwar wanted to run themselves based on democratic principles that respect everyone’s rights and assure everyone’s ability to participate in life as equals. Thus, the Jinwar debates about the women’s council of the village began. Every woman, who settles in the village can participate in the village council and help plan the village life. Jinwar women can collectively bake their bread in the bakery or cook and eat in the communal kitchen. At the school, the academy, or the health center, as well as in the realms of agriculture, media, and diplomacy, every woman can take up responsibilities based on her own wishes. She can shape social life, welcome visiting delegations, run the shop with her own products according to her own needs. She can get education and join discussions at the academy. She can discuss and share her views on woman and life, free co-life, women and ethics-aesthetics, women and ecology, women and economy, women and history, women and health/natural health. Women can of course arrange for their needs beyond the village as well, they go on family visits or invite and host their loved ones to the village. But men are not allowed to stay in the village overnight.