I'm going to start this entry in reverse. Go back in time. Back to the Nabatean civilization. They came from the Saudi peninsula, traders and deeply religious. In Petra they created their centre, a place based on water. Sophisticated systems of underground cisterns, water channels, clay pipes, dams and reservoirs all connected in an integrated system that made use of every drop of water. Planted with figs, dates, almonds, peaches, capers, apricots and pomegranates, with annual plantings, sheep, goats and camels. They carved in the soft rock and created tombs and banqueting halls, temples and their famous treasury. An earthquake in 747AD called in their demise, and much of their city crumbled back into the earth. Their gardens turned to dust, and the region continued to get drier.

Centuries pass and Petra is once again a bustling town with shops and houses, pizza restaurants and wifi cafes. Part of the modern Jordanian culture that uses 120% of its sustainable water resource, each year diminishing its fossil water supplies. Tens of thousands of litres of water must pass through the town each day, probably hundreds of thousands. Where does it go? Not where it is needed. A few gardens thrive, and the valley looked to my untrained eye well managed, at least in comparison with much of the surrounding desert that once was fertile savannah, home to lions and grazers. I saw some water harvesting in Petra, but not much, and the greywater appears to run to a sewer, not trees. If greywater harvesting and rainwater collection was systemic, the country would literally change colour. We still have a lot to learn from the Nabateans.

So to Open Space. Before we had our fun in Petra (and it was amazing!), we spent the last day at the Wadi Rum convergence site focussed on one big question:

“Within ourselves and our communities, what do we need to change, what do we need to share, and how do we best support each other to grow a permaculture future.”

Workshops and discussions followed, in set spaces, by the coffee bar, in the desert and the smoking tent. The heat of the day couldn't sap our energy, it seemed to fuel us. The planet is getting hot and dry and we need to cool it down. So we discussed how we can organise to re-vegetate the planet and which networks and approaches we can use. We thought about how to bring peace in our communities and design abundant landscapes. Pattern thinking, and children's education, working with aid agencies and seed saving. Even the humble potatoe made an appearance.

At the end of the day we reported back to the plenary and there was some wonderful sharing. Emotional, funny and thought provoking. A Mediterranean food forest discussion was fruitful and morphed into an international cooperation strategy between middle eastern delegates. An incredible and emotional journey had begun with a commitment to working together to to share common challenges in a creative and practical way. Research initiatives abounded – common protocols, sharing plant databases and on-site trials, connecting educational strategies and materials and helping Diploma processes to flourish.

We each found our inspiration and were motivated to keep up our work in our own communities. For some, their very purpose became clear, and in the hot dry dusty desert our plans for a healthy and regenerating human community took another step forward. As one participant said in their summing up, “there has been a coalescing of purpose and intention, a desire to share our tools, approaches and inspirations.” Out of the desert, new seeds will grow.

[The full open space report will be available in 3-4 weeks.]