A tour of sustainability in Jordan: Visiting the “Re-rooting” exhibit at Darat al Funun

Jordan is perhaps not the first place that comes to mind for most when thinking about global sustainability. A complex country boasting spectacular archeological sites, a rich culture of hospitality, and a thriving arts scene, it also faces pressure from rapid population growth associated with substantial influxes of refugees, and is described as the second most water-stressed country in the world.

But where there are challenges, there are also many innovative and locally driven solutions working to address the issues facing Jordanian society today. Some of these were encapsulated at the “Re-rooting” (نثرٌ من الجذور) exhibit at Darat al Funun, an Arab art museum in Amman. During my recent travels in Jordan, I made a point to visit this exhibit. I wanted to better understand local perspectives about sustainability, ecology, agriculture, and more in Jordan and the surrounding region.

Curated by Rana Beiruti, the exhibit is described as follows:

Re-rooting is a group exhibition of projects that highlight interventions, dialogues, and reflections, conducted at a local scale, that subvert and transform systems and pre-conditioned understandings of the three most pressing concerns in Jordan today; water politics, agro-ecology, and extractive building practices.

Re-rooting, Darat al Funun

The exhibit features a number of local projects and initiatives tied in some way to sustainability in the region. For example, it showcases the Al Barakeh Wheat project, educating visitors about the confluence of factors leading to the decline of wheat production in Jordan (including its linkage to white flour from the United States as “aid”), and the reintroduction of local wheat production as a form of food sovereignty. Other notable works include a section exploring the connection between colonization and (lack of) sustainability through the example of Jaffa oranges. Another: how education can uplift or warp collective understanding, through a series of textbooks describing Jordan as a “country poor in resources” – which begs the question, “how might a society evolve if, rather than educating about lack, it taught its members to imagine what could be?”

Wandering through the exhibit, I was struck by how each initiative described there, in spite of the wide variety of content presented, heavily emphasized values. Common themes throughout the exhibit included the importance of honoring ancestral traditions and local expertise, and reconnecting people with land, seeds, food, plants, and soil. Furthermore, there was an recurring emphasis on the importance of visioning of new models for living that reject extractive practices and embrace respect and compassion for the planet and all its lifeforms. All of this embodied the fact that sustainability is not just a thing that we “do” (i.e. planting trees, or sustainable farming), but fundamentally connected to the values that drive us, and how we think about and treat ourselves, one another, and the planet.

Personally, being in this space provoked many feelings at once. I was impressed and inspired by the broad diversity of work taking place within Jordan and in the surrounding region to address these important issues, which are local but also inherently global.

Furthermore, the exhibit prompted reflection on my own work in sustainability and sustainable development. I felt pride at being involved in my own small way in the sustainability space, alongside the thinkers, artists, and doers featured in the Re-rooting exhibit. At the same time, the exhibit left me with a sense of humility as an actor in this field. The architecture of development, particularly international development, is easily paternalistic, promoting thought leadership within the Global North first and foremost. Yet there is so much knowledge held in so many parts of the world that deserves to be uplifted and showcased as well, that could serve as models for the rest of us in building a better world. Re-rooting provides a potent example of this. I think the world would be a kinder, more thoughtful, more intentional, more peaceful, and indeed, more sustainable place, were we all to embody the values showcased throughout the exhibit.

The Re-rooting exhibit will be open through the end of September 2022; if you find yourself in Amman before then, I highly recommend giving it a visit.