Farms not Arms Regenerative Farm

Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

Team: Jehane Akiki, Agritecture, Bau Land, Dakotah Apostolou, Biomass, The Other Dada, Da Rocha Farm

IN PROGRESS

Farms Not Arms is an integrated agricultural farm model that addresses food security for refugees and host communities. The Protofarm is the first phase, currently in development in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. The Bekaa Valley has the highest percentage of refugees of any area in the world. This 1,500 sq m site produces enough food to feed 250 people, and costs approximately $80,000 USD to build.

The farm produces 3.5x the amount of food of a typical farm, and covers the food needs of the most nutritious parts of the local diet. The design maximizes productivity and regeneration by using both low-tech hydroponics housed in flexible greenhouses, and a polyculture of trees, animals, and crops in permaculture fields. This approach maximizes productivity per area and restores the local environment.

The building is designed as two pathways coming together to form a community courtyard. One pathway is food processing, running from raw materials to marketable products, and the other houses classrooms and space for services to refugees and the local community. Earth bricks are the primary building component, and local knowledge of earth architecture will be leveraged during construction. The central community space houses educational courses & communal dinners for greater social cohesion.

The Protofarm bridged divides -- both between refugees & host communities & between old farming practices & technological innovation -- to build an optimal agricultural model that targets food insecurity, climate change, and social cohesion. The heart of the vision is centered around education and farming to quickly scale impact.