Fostering profitable regenerative agriculture
About Rawa'
What we do
Rawa’ is a Youtube channel that broadcast quality content on agroecology – in Arabic.
We take farmers’ questions and challenges, research them and obtain reviews from field experts. We then package the practical, actionnable information in condensed episodes, with illustrations and visits to farms that successfully apply innovative techniques.
Why we do it
There are existing solutions to climate change and water scarcity , and incredible potential for innovation: farmers and entrepreneurs throughout the world are experimenting with new, low-capital agricultural techniques.
What is missing, though, is a mechanism to pass this evolving know-how between the different stakeholders. Farmers from, say, Jordan and Southern Spain cannot share their findings and draw inspiration from each other; they struggle to find applicable knowledge in abstract scientific articles ; on top of that, Arabic speaking farmers cannot tap into the thousands of existing YouTube videos with excellent agroecological content because they are usually in English.
How we do it
Rawa’ is composed of two filming teams, a graphic designer and occasional help from guides and translators.
The two filming teams – one in Jordan, one in Southern Europe – visit farms to interview farmers, understand their needs and learn from their operations. The graphic designer makes sure the content is soft on the eyes, and guides and translators give us special, intimate access to farmers across the drylands
Efficient capture & use of water
Catching and storing rainwater and cultivating crops adapted to the region’s different climates are ways to prevent water competition between the agricultural sector and households, as a start.
Creation of locally relevant know-how and skills
Whether it’s finding the right combination of plants to create soil, increase yield per unit water and labor, or developing a sensor infrastructure to monitor progress, it’s about creating, developing, and honing skills in a challenging environment.
Efficient resource management
Waste can be revalued and repurposed or, alternatively, factored out of the production processes. Creative thinking will make one man’s trash everyone’s treasure.
Little to no dependency on inputs
By moving away from monocultures and by selecting species with greater affinity to local conditions, the farmer can do away with most or all of the expenses dedicated to the chemical fertility and prevention of pests.
Tackled
Aspects
Ecologic
We combat desertification by implementing water harvesting and infiltration techniques that favor the growth of plants which, in turn, results in richer biodiversity.
Economic
A richer biodiversity equates to a number of active ecological processes that not only replace pesticides and chemical fertilizers, but also support growth and create more reliable yields.
Academic
By systematically documenting our experiments, we create reproducible and transferable know-how that facilitates the entry of new participants in the field of regenerative agriculture.