Food Integrated Gardens (FIG) is a permaculture startup that creates regenerative landscapes, connects people with nature, the land of Israel, and the Jewish calendar.

 

 

Dear Friends

In honor of Tu Bishvat, we are excited to launch our New Seeds campaign. As the only Jewish permaculture educational farm in Jerusalem, our work depends on donations from generous individuals like you.  

 

Our focus for 2025/2026 is fire prevention education, completion of our greenhouse, and more Jewish programs and events on our farm. With you as our partner, these are the wins we can anticipate this year:

 

• Fire Prevention Education: This has been the driest winter here in Israel in over a century. This translates to a very high risk of forest fires in the coming months. Jerusalem can learn from Australia, one of the most fire-prone regions in the world, and from permaculture. This year, FIG will edit and disseminate our 3-part wildfire documentary series, featuring Permaculture co-originator David Holmgren, and host fire prevention trainings, empowering community members to defend their homes. This is especially critical for communities along Israel’s borders, who face fire caused by rockets, mortars and arson. 

 

• Greenhouse: The heart of our outdoor classroom, our greenhouse is where youth-at-risk, international visitors and local permaculture students all gather to learn. It’s where we propagate native, heirloom seeds and heritage fruit trees that are ultimately planted on our 15-acre farm in Jerusalem. While the greenhouse frame has already been built, we need a rain/shade cover so that we can use this space in all weather conditions, significantly increasing our capacity.

 

• Events on the farm: Since 2015, FIG has facilitated 15 retreats, run over 90 permaculture educational workshops, and convened 28 community gatherings, engaging thousands of participants. Since COVID, we’ve hosted fewer gatherings and community events on the farm. With your support, this year will mark a return to in-person events, including Jewish Festival celebrations, which are set in nature and connect participants to the Earth, to pluralistic, joyful, Jewish practice, and to one another. The past few years have been challenging and we will heed the call to gather, heal, and build resilience. In this way, we will actualize our farm’s potential as a green respite for urban-dwellers, an inclusive community resource, and a source of inspiration, spiritual renewal and health in Jerusalem.

If you share in our vision of a greener, more fire-resistant, resilient, and sustainable Jerusalem, I invite you to support our work. Donations are tax-deductible. 

What to Give and What You’ll Get:

• Resilience Cultivator ($200-499 USD): Complimentary admission for two to a FIG workshop of your choice. If you live outside of Israel, you can gift this award to loved ones or join us for an online offering.  
• Harvest Guardian ($500-$3999 USD): Permaculture consultation (in person/online) for your garden, homestead, or farm. Whether you want to start a garden or have been farming for years, Paz will meet with you, in person or on Zoom, to help you achieve your green garden dreams. 
• Steward of the Land ($4000-$9999 USD): Permaculture master plan and report of your landscape. Through a series of meetings (coupled with site visits, as feasible), you will receive personalized maps, expert guidance, and sustainability strategies for a thriving, regenerative landscape.
• Tree of life  ($10,000+ USD): Naming rights to our new herbal medicine garden, which will bring healing in the wake of terrorism, war, and displacement. The herbal medicine garden will be a repository of traditional plant knowledge and act as a living laboratory for our permaculture apprentices and youth-at-risk.

With deep gratitude for your past partnership, I invite you to join us, as we cultivate growth, healing, regeneration and community today and for years to come. Wishing you a Tu Bishvat Sameach!

Paz Faigenbaum

Director

FIG - Food Integrated Gardens

 

Thank you! We are truly blessed by your support and partnership in this work!