Our first experimental farm is hosted on the rooftop of ‘Jadal for Knowledge and Culture’ in Amman. Since January 2017 the garden has been our laboratory for new designs and innovating ideas. On Jadal’s roof, the ideas of our installations become reality.
Enriched with the experience of building our first rooftop farm we are better equipped to avoid future obstacles and make the design and building process for the implementation in camp areas more efficient and cost-saving.
Sharing a similar mindset and vision makes it a great meeting point for all people that are interested in the project.
Partner
Jadal – Knowledge and Culture
What is Jadal for Knowledge and Culture?
Jadal is an initiative that offers an open space, where cultural activities and knowledge sharing fuse to evoke and spread new societal values. The project aims at encouraging creativity, innovation and collective activities that benefit the community. It also creates a space for self-exploration, questioning, sharing skills and experiences, critical discussions, reflection and artistic expression. The space is situated in one of the old houses in Amman, loved for its unique architecture, dating back to 1933, located on al Kalha stairs, connecting Downtown, the busy old heart of the city and Jabal L’Weibdeh, a neighbourhood bursting with ambitious start-ups and creative initiatives.
What does Jadal do?
Since its opening in 2012, Jadal for Knowledge and Culture has been hosting various discussions, lectures, exhibitions for debuting artists, concerts and jam sessions. It has also been a space for different workshops and courses based on communal sharing of artistic/linguistic skills and knowledge. Some of Jadal’s activities are regular, such as the monthly International Dinner and the weekly Discussion Saloon, where a wide range of topics related to humanity, science, nature and society are discussed. Thanks to the diversity and the depth of its content, Jadal has become a safe space for different people and communities such as students, urban refugees, expatriates, artists, thinkers, activists.
What does Jadal mean to us?
“Jadal has a weird attraction on me. It is this kind of space you encounter very rarely in a lifetime. Jadal is this thing that doesn’t open and close at certain hours. Jadal is a concept, an idea that breathes life. That breathes future. A common future in which anyone willing can participate. It is so much at once, and yet so pure at the same time. It breathes an atmosphere of openness and appreciation. Jadal is this place that captures and inhibits your brains and heart and guides your feet through the maze of the city to its front door. In my naïveté I would wish every society to have its Jadal. But in all honesty, I believe there are few places on earth that deserve Jadal more than this city. The very existence of Jadal is one of the foundations of the growth of Greening The Camps. And in turn, it is an indescribable pleasure to be able to add our story to the book of Jadal.“
Machiel Van Nieuwenhove
“On my first day in Jordan, Machiel took me to Jadal and opened the door to a creative space that tackles important and often ignored challenges in our society. I was inspired by the endless enthusiasm and devotion that everybody brings to this cultural refuge. Jadal is a warm-hearted space where everyone is unique but feels welcome from the very first moment they walk in. Being part of their family is truly a blessing for us.”
Evi Hellebaut
