The South Sinai Flora Field Guide (2021-2022)
A collaborative project with older members of the Jebeleya tribe, the indigenous Bedouin community of St. Catherine region in South Sinai, Egypt. Seeing the rich cultural heritage and vast desert knowledge tribe elders have, we collaborated to develop an archive of the bountiful and diverse flora of Sinai. Reflecting on the Sinai land through the eyes of its keepers, the archive is developed in the form of a field guide. The guide is a compilation of plants and herbs natively grown in South Sinai with medicinal benefits. The plants were foraged and contributed by older members of the community. The guide includes photographs of the plants, descriptions of its traditional use handwritten by collaborating members and information on when and where the plants can be found and harvested including illustrations.
The field guide is aimed towards the younger generations of the Bedouin community to learn and practice the usage of the land’s harvest. I believe that when the economy declines and social injustice rises, cultures disappear, it falls into the gap separating generations from inheriting the rich cultural legacy and so by time we lose our identity and sense of belonging. The essence of this project is to embrace the diverse contemporary portrayal of the Bedou’ identity throughout generations and genders.
As a fifth generation diaspora, I had the opportunity to learn about my estranged heritage and identity during the production of the project. It became a source of reconnection to younger members of the community to celebrate and preserve the traditional and modern Bedouin identity. It became a bridge between generations to reconnect to their land, preserve its natural heritage and handover the knowledge carried by the elders.
The pocket-sized guide was published and distributed to the community with the support of National Geographic and Cultures of Resistance. The third edition of the guide will be available in 2025.
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