Kurdistan: Recovering a Garden of Paradise

For 10,000 years, farmers in northern Iraq have cultivated a wealth of native crops that spread throughout the world. Apricots, chickpeas, and onions flourished in the fields, wheat and barley in the foothills. Today, after years of wars, sanctions, and droughts, this portion of the Fertile Crescent is endangered. I traveled with a documentary team through northern Iraq, filming a documentary about the region’s efforts to recover its agricultural vitality. “It was truly the garden of paradise,” says Jamal Fouad, former minister of agriculture who now runs a teaching farm with his wife, Cathy. “There is nothing that cannot grow in this soil. But things must change for our farmers.”

The project was produced in conjunction with the educational initiative ‘The Iraqi Seed Project’ (dir. Emma Piper-Burket). All quotes are taken from interviews conducted in 2011.

For much of the region’s history, wheat and barley were primary exports; today, Iraq is one of the world’s largest grain importers.Compromised by lack of labor and contaminated grain, Omar Ali’s harvest is inedible. It will become animal feed, and he will purchase wheat to feed his family. “In the past, our children would do the farming. Now, the young people are going to the cities for new jobs.”

In Kani Sard, a village two miles from Jarmo (where wheat was domesticated around 8,000 B.C.), women make bread with bags of flour marked “Pakistan”. Along with lack of water and limited agricultural land, dwindling government support has threatened local farming. More than half of Kani Sard’s population has left for the cities in the past few years.

Northern Iraq is home to mountains, steppes, and pastures that were part of the Fertile Crescent: the birthplace of agriculture—and, indeed, civilization—where ancient farmers nurtured a wealth of crops that would become staples throughout the world. Now, after years of war and sanctions, the country cannot feed itself. Markets are filled with foreign monocrops, heirloom fruits are disappearing, and fields are fallow. Imported greenhouses collapse in the wind, and the next generation of farmers rejects their inherited land.

In Parliament and in the fields, the region is debating how to proceed— how to rebuild its farming culture and recover its agricultural sovereignty. Foreign aid, ideologies, technology, and seeds are flooding the country amidst its reconstruction. It imports the majority of its food supply, and its endemic plants and agricultural legacy are endangered. While much of the modernized world is, in a sense, trying to achieve the locally grown, sustainable agriculture that Mesopotamia practiced for thousands of years, the region is now unable to follow its own model.

There are reasons to be hopeful. A long-pastoral region that evolved with the land, Iraq’s landscape retains areas of native beauty that flourish with hollyhocks, pomegranates, wild grasses; with people who can discern edible from poisonous, and who know the history of their food. For a people besieged with calamities for so long, the land is critical. “The [northern Iraqi] has but one friend in the world, and that’s his mountain,” remarked Azzam Alwash, well-known for his efforts to recover the war-ravaged Mesopotamian marshlands, and also devoted to habitat restoration.

Indeed, Iraqis are a notoriously resilient people, many of whom are making incredible efforts to reengage agriculture. The First Lady of Iraq, Mrs. Hero Ibrahim Ahmed Talabani, is concerned that many heirloom crops will disappear with the reconstruction; she is currently funding an initiative to recover an indigenous, nutty variety of rice. Dr Jamal Fuad, former Minister of Agriculture, and his wife, Cathy, own a teaching farm in the hills outside the city. “It was truly the Garden of Paradise,” they remark. “There is nothing that cannot grow in this soil. But things must change for our farmers.”

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A local artist has repurposed a discarded weapons cannister into a symbol of regeneration, pouring forth local stone fruit. Throughout the region, whether by public art installations or agricultural initiatives, it’s easy to see how plants is metaph

A local artist has repurposed a discarded weapons cannister into a symbol of regeneration, pouring forth local stone fruit. Throughout the region, whether by public art installations or agricultural initiatives, it’s easy to see how plants is metaphorically and literally wielded to represent renewal despite persecution.

Volunteers and scientists press specimens collected in the mountains near Iran for a ‘Flora of Iraq’. While training locals to identify native plants, botanists from Nature Iraq are meanwhile creating the first comprehensive documentation of local f

Volunteers and scientists press specimens collected in the mountains near Iran for a ‘Flora of Iraq’. While training locals to identify native plants, botanists from Nature Iraq are meanwhile creating the first comprehensive documentation of local flora.

Jarmo, a neolithic farming site in northern Iraq’s foothills, is believed to be one of the world’s earliest farming villages. Archaeologists have found evidence of domesticated wheat and seed storage that date from around 8,000 B.C. Today, whether b

Jarmo, a neolithic farming site in northern Iraq’s foothills, is believed to be one of the world’s earliest farming villages. Archaeologists have found evidence of domesticated wheat and seed storage that date from around 8,000 B.C. Today, whether by genetic modification or by law, farmers cannot save seeds from many crops.

A wild hollyhock near Jarmo, northern Iraq. Hollyhock are among the flowers found in Shanidar Cave, Iraq, a Neanderthal burial site dated 60-80,000 years ago. Referred to as a “flower burial”, eight species of medicinal plants included yarrow, ragwo

A wild hollyhock near Jarmo, northern Iraq. Hollyhock are among the flowers found in Shanidar Cave, Iraq, a Neanderthal burial site dated 60-80,000 years ago. Referred to as a “flower burial”, eight species of medicinal plants included yarrow, ragwort, woody horsetail were buried in one grave alone, suggesting that the man had been a traditional healer.

In Iraq, melons are synonymous with summer; in a region where clean drinking water is scarce, watermelons are a good source of water, and vendors line every major roadway. Previously the region cultivated & exported many varieties of melons; tod

In Iraq, melons are synonymous with summer; in a region where clean drinking water is scarce, watermelons are a good source of water, and vendors line every major roadway. Previously the region cultivated & exported many varieties of melons; today, only a few remain. Along with the watermelon, many traditional crops to have suffered in the last decade, as farmers struggle to cultivate, transport, and competitively price their harvest.

A rice farmer tends paddies in Baziyan to recultivate an heirloom variety of rice called Qush Qaya. The effort is initiated by the First Lady of Iraq, Hero Ibrahim Ahmed Talabani, who remembers the round, nutty rice as one of the many native plants

A rice farmer tends paddies in Baziyan to recultivate an heirloom variety of rice called Qush Qaya. The effort is initiated by the First Lady of Iraq, Hero Ibrahim Ahmed Talabani, who remembers the round, nutty rice as one of the many native plants that have disappeared since her childhood. Baziyan was once a prolific rice region; now the land is dry and varieties are extinct.

A museum in Halabja commemorates the 5,000 people killed in 1998, when Saddam launched chemical attack designed to eradicate a population in northern Iraq. Today, uncertainties linger about persistent soil contamination: villages are abandoned, and

A museum in Halabja commemorates the 5,000 people killed in 1998, when Saddam launched chemical attack designed to eradicate a population in northern Iraq. Today, uncertainties linger about persistent soil contamination: villages are abandoned, and farmers have been slow to re-cultivate the once-fertile region. Yet Halabja is hopeful, filling orchards with pomegranates and apricots, and weapons canisters with garlands of green.

A botanist dissects Centaurea regia , a native thistle, collected in the Qara Dagh mountains. In collaboration with the Royal Botanic Garden at Edinburgh, scientists at Nature Iraq, a local environmental group, are collect specimening for the forth

A botanist dissects Centaurea regia, a native thistle, collected in the Qara Dagh mountains. In collaboration with the Royal Botanic Garden at Edinburgh, scientists at Nature Iraq, a local environmental group, are collect specimening for the forthcoming ‘Flora of Iraq’, a comprehensive guide to regional plants. It is one of the many efforts to preserve and document the region’s wealth of native plants.

When Iraq’s national seed bank at Abu Ghraib was destroyed in 2003, this woman — a seed scientist — buried a cache of seeds in her basement. Eight yeats later she still works to preserve the region’s botanic diversity. She joins a field workshop led

When Iraq’s national seed bank at Abu Ghraib was destroyed in 2003, this woman — a seed scientist — buried a cache of seeds in her basement. Eight yeats later she still works to preserve the region’s botanic diversity. She joins a field workshop led by local botanists with Nature Iraq, through the northern mountains.

Since antiquity, herbalists have prescribed milk thistle ( Silybum marianum ). Modern Iraqi pharmacology research expands on traditional applications, identifying its seeds as a treatment for liver disease. Dr Ali Askari, a former professor at the C

Since antiquity, herbalists have prescribed milk thistle (Silybum marianum). Modern Iraqi pharmacology research expands on traditional applications, identifying its seeds as a treatment for liver disease. Dr Ali Askari, a former professor at the College of Agriculture, predicts that it could be more profitable than wheat, a crop that is no longer generating revenue for the region.

If northern Iraq is an oasis of peace in a volatile region, then its urban parks—moments of green in the grey—provide an analogous respite in the concrete city. The locations of some are especially meaningful. Park Daik (Mother Park), a lush garden,

If northern Iraq is an oasis of peace in a volatile region, then its urban parks—moments of green in the grey—provide an analogous respite in the concrete city. The locations of some are especially meaningful. Park Daik (Mother Park), a lush garden, is cultivated on soil previously occupied by a Saddam-directed prison. At the center is a monument to the future stands: a woman holding a baby, sculpted as if she were growing from a tree, surrounded by lavender. Nearby, in Park Azadi (Freedom Park), a landscape of orchards and ponds fills the footprint of a former execution field.

Concrete benches designed to look like local fruits can be found throughout public parks in the city. Along with pomegranate are watermelons and apples.

Concrete benches designed to look like local fruits can be found throughout public parks in the city. Along with pomegranate are watermelons and apples.

Chnar Hama Noori, a student at the College of Agriculture, harvests the seeds of different wheat varieties to compare the nutritional content and soil compatibility of both imported and domestic wheat. Incorporating modern methods with traditional p

Chnar Hama Noori, a student at the College of Agriculture, harvests the seeds of different wheat varieties to compare the nutritional content and soil compatibility of both imported and domestic wheat. Incorporating modern methods with traditional practices, the school’s curricula prepares a young generation of farmers to inherit their land.

At Sulaymaniyah’s markets, local produce was once the rule. Now, it is the exception. People say they recognize the poor quality of imported vegetables, but cannot afford the high prices of locally-grown—if they can find them at all. In an effort to

At Sulaymaniyah’s markets, local produce was once the rule. Now, it is the exception. People say they recognize the poor quality of imported vegetables, but cannot afford the high prices of locally-grown—if they can find them at all. In an effort to encourage local farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture has often declared a forthcoming embargo on the import of many native crops (eg. cucumber, onions), but the ban has yet to be implemented.

A woman carries bushels of wheat, unfortunately inedible.

A woman carries bushels of wheat, unfortunately inedible.

Iraqi coins are decorated with a palm tree, another example of a region defined by its flora.

Iraqi coins are decorated with a palm tree, another example of a region defined by its flora.

Emma Piper Burket began The Iraqi Seed Project in 2009 as an educational initiative to raise awareness about agricultural issues in Post-War Iraq. Anna Laurent joined as a photographer and writer. We are also in the process of creating an archive of source material project, gathered over the past decade, as a resource for farmers, artists, scholars, and policy makers.