Final day for me. Two coaches left Amman, one destined to continue onwards to Palestine, one back for Amman, from where we leave. The coach wound its way through the city and out into the countryside. Flocks of goats and sheep, trees and shrubs all flew past in the morning heat. We arrive to Bayoudah village and are greeted by Sameeh Al Nuimat, project director for the Care Jordan and HSBC sponsored project in the village. We gathered in the renovated building bequeathed by the father of the village, a beautiful cool building in which to learn about their work.

Bayoudah is 35km NW of Amman in the more fertile mountainous region of Jordan, with 3000 people and 350mm of rain each year. There are now 450 wells and cisterns each with around 45 cubic metres of water storage. You could tell, because the village felt greener than most of what I have experienced in Jordan. Their community organisation was set up in 1991, and since then has attracted considerable investment that has been spent on a range of practical initiatives. These include: Soil and water conservation for agriculture; home gardening training in small livestock and inter-cropping; mushroom cultivation on straw, native plantings of drought tolerant trees; composting; awareness raising on environmental issues; and the participation of women in the economic life of the village. Fertiliser use has decreased and water held in the village cisterns and soil has increased. The project has high level support and the government want to learn form it to develop further villages. Farmer to farmer learning and a revolving loan fund are helping the initiative to spread within the village and to neighbouring settlements.

Rainwater Harvesting has increased the amount of water per person by 20 litres per day, and grey water harvesting has effectively given them another 65 litres per day for garden use, saving each family around $130 a year in sewage payments per year. Pretty impressive.

We were invited to see Sameeh's own garden and look at the grey water system. Reeds and trees clean the water, and give ample water for tending the garden. We walked to neighbouring field and Maarten gave us all a mini masterclass in soil observation and conservation strategies.

Back to the bus. An hour of winding roads later, past irrigated banana plantations, and barren spaces, we slowly dropped down past sea level into the Jordan valley, and at last at around 350m below sea level we reached the PRI site. Some of the surrounding land could be likened to the surface of the moon. I've never been, but the white dusty surface, strewn with rocks gave the same impression. So Nadia's site looked all the greener when we walked into their garden. Shaded vegetables on drip line irrigation were thriving, and the many trees were all spot mulched and followed the line of the swales that had been dug and deep mulched. Grape vines and compost toilets, grey water and rainwater collection, chickens, ducks and two new buildings. All combined to create a really beautiful garden. There is more to do, but it was amazing to see how much had already been achieved in such a short time. Bill Mollison sat in the shade, laughing and chatting and the two coach parties said their goodbyes. We thanked our hosts and said bye to Bill, running to catch the coach before it departed back for Amman.

So now I'm here in my hotel room typing it up. One day left to buy presents for the kids, visit the mosque and catch my flight home. Its been an incredible experience. I can't say just how much I've learnt and how many new connections have been made. I'm going to keep writing and make sure that I can communicate more of what has inspired me. Thanks to all the organisers and the participants. And a very special thank you to Jordan, a very kind and welcoming country. Its a bit too dry for my liking, but from what I've learnt, I know we can turn that around.