Writing by Faris al-Rifai
(Eqtsad)- In the balcony of his simple countryside home in Amasya north of Turkey, Syrian refugee Mohamed Hadid Shufan sits contemplating his plantings which he spent months nurturing in creative ways that it may make him forget the bitter months of siege where he lived in the Old City of Homs.
In each part of the balcony, the plantings are distributed which he planted in unorthodox ways like hydroponics and vertical agriculture and incubators method to be of help for him in refugee conditions and to answer his old desire in creativity which he desired since he was a child.
In February 2014, Shufan left to Turkey by help of UN with his family to live in Amasya whose name coincidentally resembles the old name of Homs, Amysa.
There, the son of Bab al-Sibaa neighborhood wanted to retrieve his old love for experimentation and creativity in agriculture field. He started implementing the parallel pipes system which depends on agriculture in empty plastic containers hanged on a window or a wall. The watering is connected to the pipes in a special way. He planted though this system many plants, vegetables, lettuce, parsley, tomatoes, eggplants, carrots and potatoes taking into consideration each plant of water and nutrition needs to be self-efficient for him and his acquaintances and neighbors who helped him make the project successful.
After that, Shufan told Eqtsad he moved to the idea of “hydroponics”. He studied it carefully on the internet and contacted people who gave him important information on producing mushrooms and spores manufacturing. Also, they gave him general information about hydroponics which depends as he says on the accurate system and nutrient solutions and whose roots need less area than traditional agriculture.
Shufan spent a lot of money in the beginning of his project due to his lack of experience in this field. Still, he insisted on continuing and he sent an international agriculture company via the internet. After he bought devices to measure ph and ppm device, he was able to plant many vegetables like beans, tomatoes, cucumber, pipers, and others in water containers and it was successful by 60 % as he confirms.
Shufan explains the mechanism which hydroponics depends on. A nutrition solution is provided to compensate the big and small nutrients in the soil like nitrogen, potassium, calcium, casion nitrate, potassium nitrate, iron magnesium and others. This type of agriculture also depends on the water circulation for oxygen.
Shufan also pointed out that Pharaohs were the first to discover hydroponics and Israel was first to use it in modern age and then it moved to Europe. Now, it is common in the Gulf area. Shufan confirms that the advantages of this type of agriculture is doubling the production and minimizing use of water. also, the plants’ roots do not need big area like normal agriculture and vegetables can be planted through it like potatoes, onion, carrots, and tress as well. For each category of plants, there is a special system.
In light of the successful experiments, Shufan wanted to establish a charity project to help Syrians inside, but he was faced with rejection by those who talk on behalf of the revolution as he says explaining that this rejection is because the project is not costly and cannot be robbed from, according to him.
He indicated that all he did during the past years was on his own expense. His lack of financial resources put a limit for his ambitions and ideas in addition to his health condition as he suffers a war injury due to shrapnel or mortar since four years which cause him severe pain when he moves. Despite all of that, Shufan holds tight into hope and determination to give. He aspires to prove himself and build a better future for his family and his country.
(Eqtsad)- In the balcony of his simple countryside home in Amasya north of Turkey, Syrian refugee Mohamed Hadid Shufan sits contemplating his plantings which he spent months nurturing in creative ways that it may make him forget the bitter months of siege where he lived in the Old City of Homs.
In each part of the balcony, the plantings are distributed which he planted in unorthodox ways like hydroponics and vertical agriculture and incubators method to be of help for him in refugee conditions and to answer his old desire in creativity which he desired since he was a child.
In February 2014, Shufan left to Turkey by help of UN with his family to live in Amasya whose name coincidentally resembles the old name of Homs, Amysa.
There, the son of Bab al-Sibaa neighborhood wanted to retrieve his old love for experimentation and creativity in agriculture field. He started implementing the parallel pipes system which depends on agriculture in empty plastic containers hanged on a window or a wall. The watering is connected to the pipes in a special way. He planted though this system many plants, vegetables, lettuce, parsley, tomatoes, eggplants, carrots and potatoes taking into consideration each plant of water and nutrition needs to be self-efficient for him and his acquaintances and neighbors who helped him make the project successful.
After that, Shufan told Eqtsad he moved to the idea of “hydroponics”. He studied it carefully on the internet and contacted people who gave him important information on producing mushrooms and spores manufacturing. Also, they gave him general information about hydroponics which depends as he says on the accurate system and nutrient solutions and whose roots need less area than traditional agriculture.
Shufan spent a lot of money in the beginning of his project due to his lack of experience in this field. Still, he insisted on continuing and he sent an international agriculture company via the internet. After he bought devices to measure ph and ppm device, he was able to plant many vegetables like beans, tomatoes, cucumber, pipers, and others in water containers and it was successful by 60 % as he confirms.
Shufan explains the mechanism which hydroponics depends on. A nutrition solution is provided to compensate the big and small nutrients in the soil like nitrogen, potassium, calcium, casion nitrate, potassium nitrate, iron magnesium and others. This type of agriculture also depends on the water circulation for oxygen.
Shufan also pointed out that Pharaohs were the first to discover hydroponics and Israel was first to use it in modern age and then it moved to Europe. Now, it is common in the Gulf area. Shufan confirms that the advantages of this type of agriculture is doubling the production and minimizing use of water. also, the plants’ roots do not need big area like normal agriculture and vegetables can be planted through it like potatoes, onion, carrots, and tress as well. For each category of plants, there is a special system.
In light of the successful experiments, Shufan wanted to establish a charity project to help Syrians inside, but he was faced with rejection by those who talk on behalf of the revolution as he says explaining that this rejection is because the project is not costly and cannot be robbed from, according to him.
He indicated that all he did during the past years was on his own expense. His lack of financial resources put a limit for his ambitions and ideas in addition to his health condition as he suffers a war injury due to shrapnel or mortar since four years which cause him severe pain when he moves. Despite all of that, Shufan holds tight into hope and determination to give. He aspires to prove himself and build a better future for his family and his country.
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