“ It’s still early in the morning when Nesra crosses the metal gates that marks the entry of the regional community garden of Smara. She strides towards the back of the garden with Hama, her youngest son, by her side. With every step, the decor changes and the monotony of the desert is brightening up with different shades of green. From outside, it’s almost impossible to imagine that such a vibrant parade can occur. Yet, once you get in, it’s really easy to forget that this haven is located in the harsh Sahara Desert, surrounded by a refugee camp”.

“ For the past weeks, Nesra has come to the garden every day. With other women, she makes sure that the patch is visited twice a day to be watered and inspected for weeds. If you would’ve asked Nesra about agriculture only a couple months ago, she wouldn’t have been able to tell you much. Before participating to this project, the mother of three never took care of crops or done any farm work. At 32 years old, Nesra says she always loved to try different things and never missed a chance to learn new skills”.

“The initial aim of the project was to recruit 50 families or groups to work on parcels of the garden to grow vegetables. The interest within the camp was high and 110 groups ended up being part of the initiative and Nesra’s team of women was one of them”.

“At first, everybody attended trainings about the healthy exploitation of the land, agroecology and farming techniques. With the support of Oxfam’s team and the engineer affected to their parcels, the participants were guided through every step; from preparing the seeds to getting the soil ready and finally sowing”.

“Born and raised in a refugee camp, Nesra spent her whole life coping with the rough conditions of a life in exile. She realized from early on that basic things like access to food and water turns into a real challenge in the desert. 44 years has passed since Nesra’s family fled what was known as Western Sahara to find safety in the refugee camps of Tindouf. Even though some things have changed through the years, other aspects of the life in the camps remained frustratingly static. The refugee population remains almost entirely dependent on humanitarian aid for the most basic needs. Food insecurity is a very important issue that has heavy consequences on the health of Sahrawis”.

“There is an important lack of opportunity to find nutritive food and fresh products in this remote and isolated environment, and most families are relying on the monthly food distribution as their main source. Unfortunately, a decrease in the funding allocated to humanitarian assistance has affected the quality of the distributions, yet the needs are as critical as ever”.

“On top of health and economic benefits, this project gives a true sense of ownership to the participants who lived their whole life depending on foreign support to survive”.

“ Nesra brings vegetables home whenever she needs it, but she also makes sure to share her crops with neighbours and friends. It’s also significant for Nesra as a woman to be the provider for her family. She’s not only supporting her 3 children and husband, but also her parents, her siblings and their kids.

As well as the parcels dedicated to the participant’s crops, another section of the garden is used to grow vegetables that will be delivered to the population during monthly food distributions. Between 30 to 35 tones of vegetables is produced by each of the 12 employees working in that section”. 

“ In only a few days, as the warmth of summer is slowly setting back in, Nesra and the others will do the final harvest of the fields. Although this marks the end of the first year of activities for the regional garden, this is only the beginning for the new farmer”.