CONSTRUCTED UTOPIA

The idea for a feminist ecological women's village was born in Syria in the midst of ongoing war, chaos and ecological crisis. This village, JINWAR, has been developed by Kurdish women since 2015 in northeastern Syria (Hesekê canton/AANES). As a feminist utopia, it aims for a life in a free and healthy society. The shape of the village, the symbols on the walls, the herbs grown here and the educational opportunities it offers are intended to make it a place of arrival and flourishing for women and children who are exposed to multiple crises and have left their places of origin. On November 25, 2018, the day against violence on women, the ecological village was completed by various local women's initiatives through their own efforts, and this despite the ongoing civil war. Where crises and their cascades run their course, women build their own places: In the cities, their gardens, and on the fringes of war, their own villages! JINWAR is a place of inspiration! 
 

What practical steps shape the daily life of JINWAR? What kinds of gardening accompanies their autonomous idea of health [Şîfa Jin]? What role does water play in their everyday practice? Where does the understanding of a new women-environment relationship come from? How does caring for each individual [Hevaltî] become the center of the philosophy of the ecological village JINWAR? 

This conversation is part of a series of herbal garden propagation sessions to create a common space of self-organized or communal gardeners, medicinal herbalists and healers from diverse practices. The conversations explore how varied knowledges are not limited to herbal remedies for illness, but also include aspects of connections between communities and various plants, traditions and values, and rules and behaviors deemed necessary for good health, as well as social support and structures necessary for healthcare delivery.