Wadjda Official Trailer from Razor Film on Vimeo.

My interview with the very lovely Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour is now out – see the full article at Aquila. I was lucky enough to meet Haifaa when she was in London promoting her debut film Wadjda about a young Saudi girl’s battle to cycle. See the trailer above. We got talking about the rise of female Middle Eastern filmmakers, the importance of personal victories, filming in Saudi and also cycling (of course!).

Here’s a snippet:

http://www.aquila-style.com/magazine/

Here’s a sneak peek of my latest article for Aquila Magazine’s Earth Issue. It’s all about indigenous populations making the most of their ancient traditions to cope with an increasingly unpredictable climate. As well as highlighting the continued importance of ancient water tunnels (called aflaj) in Oman, I spoke to an expert on community adaption in Bangladesh about the floating gardens (called baira) which are providing a lifeline to flooded communities. There’s also a snippet on the amazing work of Hassan Fathy in Egypt…

Want to read more? Well all you have to do is download (how eco is that?!) a copy of the latest Aquila Magazine here. It’s only a couple of dollars for a mag jam-packed with goodness. Go on, you know you want to!

Related articles

• @FabulousSISTERS – Hymens, Hijabs and Helmets: Muslimahs Who Cycle (arwafreelance.com)

This is OFFICIALLY the first article I’ve ever written for children and I can honestly say, it was lots of fun. It was difficult to really really tone down the vocabulary and say things simply and clearly but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to speak to young Muslims about the environment. A great opportunity from an up and coming magazine called Discover. Check it out here. To read the article, just click on the image above.

“The environment is something everyone should be concerned about as climate change, water scarcity and pollution are issues that do not discriminate based on faith.” That’s Muaz Nasir’s response to what he likes to call constructive criticism that the Muslim Ummah focus its energies on ‘bigger issues’ rather than climate change.

Personally, I can’t imagine a ‘bigger issue’ then the future of our planet but I completely accept that this realisation hasn’t quite reached the wider Muslim community. Ground-breaking policies such as the Muslim Seven Year Action Plan on Climate Change were impressive but as Nasir points out, but they failed to “develop the necessary research or resources that would push the climate agenda into the mainstream Muslim community.”

As such, any progress has been slow and the product of hard working individual campaigners rather than national policies. Read on for more about the Muslim-environmental movement in Canada, Nasir’s green Muslim website Khaleafa.com and how he is getting mosques to ‘Ban the Bottle’ among other green ideas he is working to implement in the Muslim community – ideas which can spread around the world.

Here’s a snippet of the interview – to read the full thing go to GreenProphet.com

What do you think are the barriers holding the Muslim community from fully engaging with the climate change agenda?

I think there is a general lack of awareness of the severity of climate change as well as what actions individuals can do to decrease their carbon footprint. The issue is just not on the radar of many Islamic institutions here in North America as it is in Europe. The Muslim community in Canada is fairly young, so there are understandably competing priorities, such as establishing their families and integrating into the broader society; which often takes precedence over the climate change agenda. This is beginning to change as weather patterns shift and the trends in the climate become more visible.

What have been the responses to Khaleafa.com – have you had to face any negative reactions or had to deal with climate sceptics?

The response has been overwhelmingly positive for the most part. I try to keep my articles as neutral as possible, and encourage contributors to base their arguments on facts and to justify their opinions with reference to the Quran, Hadith and Sunnah…

There has been some negative feedback as well, mainly in the form of constructive criticism but also from individuals who feel that Muslims should be investing their resources to deal with bigger issues facing the Ummah. While I understand the direction they are coming from, my response has been that the environment is something everyone should be concerned about as climate change, water scarcity and pollution are issues that do not discriminate based on faith. We all have a collective obligation to ensure that we leave the planet in better condition for future generations and that we do not waste the resources Allah has blessed upon us.

Related articles

• Green Muslim Blogger Muaz Nasir Says Spiritual Connection With Nature Is Key (INTERVIEW) (greenprophet.com)

Here are some sneaky promos for the articles I’ve been writing for the lovely Aquila Style Magazine. I had the chance to interview media powerhouse Muna AbuSulayman about being a Saudi women, employment, the world of TV and lots more. To read the full article and also lots more juicy stuff, go to their November edition which you can download  for just a couple of dollars.

I was also lucky enough to write about my trip to Andalusia back in March and the editors let me use my photos which I think turned out really well (I’m so modest, I know). Seriously have a read and tell me you don’t want to visit – I dare you.

I speak to Shahrzad Mohtadi about the devastated drought that crippled Syria’s food centre and shook Assad’s political stability

The link between climate change and political instability may still be ambiguous, but recent research is uncovering a connection between sustainable water and food policies and the survival of governments. Shahrzad Mohtadi found that whilst a prelonged drought in Syria may not have caused the political uprising, the Assad regime’s failure to deal with it effectively certainly did. “Assad promoted water intensive crops such as cotton, while not providing efficient methods of watering such crops. There were many such policies that created a scenario where the drought’s effects were even more devastating than they otherwise would have been,” say Mohtadi.

“So one can’t say climate change will create a domino effect of instability and migration whatsoever – but Syria’s case is a warning that developing nations… should create sustainable agricultural policies.” I spoke with Shahrzad Mohtadi to find out more about the devastating drought in Syria and what other Middle Eastern nations need to do to protect their dwindling water resources – and their political stability.

You have studied quite a range of subjects ranging from micro-finance in post-Soviet Tajikistan to the political transition in Myanmar. What is it that attracted you to study climate change in the Middle East?

The Middle East is a region that grips many for its political drama. As the region already suffers from a chronic water shortage and political divisions remain fierce, climate change is yet another factor that could provoke instability. Climate model uniformly predict that the eastern Mediterranean (in political terms – the Middle East) will very likely have less rain in the future. If nations in the Middle East don’t begin implementing sustainable policies for farming and water intake that take into account future drying, the problems in the region will grow even larger.

Can you tell us about your current research on the effects of climate change on human migration in the Middle East?
A few weeks before the March 2011 uprisings in Syria began, I applied for a fellowship regarding climate change and security. I began reading about a drought that occurred in Syria from 2005-2010, and came to understand that such a drought – in how long it lasted and how much of the country was impacted – had devastated many of the country’s farmers. Over 1.5 million farming families migrated from the rural areas of the country to urban outskirts. Once the protests in Dara’a began, and the revolution snowballed from there, I was able to show how the unusual nature of the drought, which led to a mass exodus to large cities, was an important contributing factor to the Syrian uprising.

Migration and climate change can be quite a sensitive topic to explore due to security implications and also ethical implications. Do you think the widespread concerns about climate change causing mass migration from south to the north and also political and economic instability are fair?
I don’t believe any such general statements can be made. Syria’s example of migration is unique because the Assad regime’s policies were going against any rational. For example, Assad promoted water intensive crops such as cotton, while not providing efficient methods of watering such crops. There were many such policies that created a scenario where the drought’s effects were even more devastating than they otherwise would have been. So one can’t say climate change will create a domino effect of instability and migration whatsoever – but Syria’s case is a warning that developing nations who have little control over carbon emissions should create sustainable agricultural policies.

Looking at your research into Syria, it seems that the impact of climate change-induced migration is local and regional rather than global? Is that an accurate statement?
One cannot say this migration was climate-change induced, as no single extreme climate event can ever be categorized as climate change. What we know is that such unusually long and persistent drought will be more likely in the future, which can cause migrations if governments remain ignorant to sustainable water and agricultural policies.

What have been the most surprising things to emerge from your research?
As I continued my research, I was shocked at the extent to which this drought affected rural communities in Syria. In the northeast of the country, known as the breadbasket of Syria, school drop-out rates for the drought years were up to 80%. Many schools were closed and villages deserted. Up to 90% of the livestock in the area perished. And this was a region only a few years back known as the country’s food producing center. The lack of response by the Assad regime was also shocking. For a dictatorship that wishes to maintain stability and legitimacy, the response was inadequate and later came to light during the uprising.

: Image via FreedomHouse/flickr.

:: This article was originally published at GreenProphet.com 

Alzainah Albabtain, a 22 year old student, is growing her own food in the scorching heat of Kuwait and wants others to give it go too

A green fingered student from Kuwait is taking the blogosphere by storm with her ‘It All Grows’ blog. Filled to the rafters with gorgeous photos of lovely fruit and veg, recipes, and gardening tips, Alzainah wants to prove that “good fruits and vegetables don’t have to travel across the world to make it to your plate.” I caught up with her to find out how she got hooked on gardening and her insider tips for growers in the Middle East.

What inspired you to get your garden started?

I’ve always been fascinated by nature and wildlife, but never by gardening and how food is produced because, just like most people in Kuwait, the idea of growing food was quite foreign. I used to think that it took large expensive greenhouses a hundred kilometres away in Wafra with countless staff and complicated fertilizers to produce vegetables in Kuwait, until one of my relatives mentioned her 10 year old grandson’s cherry tomatoes, I was baffled! He grew cherry tomatoes in a container – I followed with questions like “outdoors? In our weather?” “Is it possible?”

I was completely shocked, and thought to myself, if a 10 year old can do it, I can at least try. The next day I went and bought seeds of whatever I found. I planted them in my back yard, under some palm trees, and with skepticism, I checked on them every other day. Once the seeds sprouted I started taking beautiful Micro photos, to show to my family. In a short time with a lot of research, I managed to turn my entire indoor pool into a greenhouse of cherry tomatoes. After this gratifying experience, I was hooked, I found myself extremely passionate about gardening in Kuwait.

What have been the biggest barriers you have faced in getting your garden to bloom?

First, it was figuring out what grows when. All the research I was doing left me hungry to learn more, but I was having trouble relating general gardening principles to our desert conditions. Plant care is so different, and the seasons are the complete opposite.
It took me a while to figure out the seasons here, its like this; a short warm season, a long cool season, then short warm again, and then summer during which gardeners take a break.

Another issue was organic pest control. There is so little offered in Kuwait when it comes to organic products, so it took me a while to find what I use now, which is organic insecticidal soap. I would go to plant nurseries and for any problem there was always a chemical solution, whether for fertilizing or pest control and I refused to use any of their recommendations on my plants. To me, it just didn’t make sense to spray something which you need to wear a gas mask to handle, on the plants I wanted to eat.

You’ve been gardening for over a year now. What tips would you give people want to grow their own food in the scorching heat of the Middle East?

It’s the blog I’ve started last year, I’ve actually been gardening for much longer.
The tips would be, to start with something easy, to do your basic research on what plant you’re growing, and to make your own compost, because its the best fertilizer there is.
You cant go wrong by starting with basil and arugula, grow them in simple potting mix in a sunny spot, any time from October to January or from February to May as they don’t like it too cold. Both plants are fast growing, easy, and delicious.

You’re right that you can’t grow in the scorching heat but you also can’t grow in the frost which other climates have to deal with. In our case we have three really hot months, (even if things did grow, I wouldn’t want to stand over or take care of them in the heat) but people look past the 9 months of good weather! And you also cant grow anything in the sand, who says you have to? Good soil is so easy to find and make, so we really have no excuse to why we think it’s so crazy to grow fresh food.

Why do you think it’s important to encourage your readers to use organic products?

It’s organic practices that make your greens superior to those at the supermarket. The joy of picking something and eating it right away without worrying about insecticides or preservative sprays is unbelievable. A big part of organic gardening is using compost, and making your own is the best thing to do, homemade compost recycles garden and kitchen scraps into beautiful dark fertilizer, which keeps plants happy all season long.

Water shortages are a real issue in the region – what tips do you have to grow with limited water?

Growing in raised beds like I do, gives you complete control over your soil, and compost rich soil with peat moss, helps retain water, and minimizes water loss.
Drip irrigation is a way to control water use and deliver water directly to the plant. Another good way to prevent loss of moisture is using mulch to cover the soil surface.

Favourite crop and your favourite recipe?

My favorite crop to grow in Kuwait is Bright Lights Rainbow Swiss Chard, because its absolutely gorgeous, with bright magenta and yellow ribs and large dark shiny leaves, its highly nutritious and does amazingly well from October to June. Thats a very long time if you ask me.
I like to sauté it as a side dish with some almonds and garlic oil.

What would you tell someone thinking of starting a garden but is little worried about lack of costs/time/expertise?

I would recommend starting small, with a potted plant, and see how it goes from there. Start with something easy, like herbs and leafy greens.
Most importantly, the internet is your best friend when it comes to gardening, I’ve learned everything I know from online research and youtube tutorials.
In fact, I created my blog to help others, to share my successes and challenges and prove how beautiful our gardens can grow.

:All images and photos courtesy of Alzainah Albabtain at It All Grows.

:Originally published at GreenProphet.com