The Negev Highlands have long sustained Bedouin agro-pastoral traditions, but climate stress, land dispossession, and lack of infrastructure have severely disrupted these systems. This project intends to promote Bedouin agroecology and the longevity of traditional agricultural systems and practices as key to regional social and climate resilience. In partnership with several Bedouin communities in the Negev Highlands, this project aims to support these communities with the stabilization and reclamation of traditional land uses, and to promote cross-cultural educational exchange. This is being achieved through the creation of community-run medicinal plant nurseries, the development of a living seed bank for ancient landrace wheat and barley species, and comprehensive research into how the Israeli government addresses ecological conservation and agriculture policies as a means to disenfranchise Bedouins from their land.
Considering agroecology from a social-political perspective the project aspires to rethink food insecurity, biodiversity loss, and rural unemployment by promoting climate-resilient, community-led agriculture. Food security and land rights are two intrinsically linked issues with both explicitly environmental and political causes. This research demonstrates an approach to combating these issues holistically.
