Himmeh w Lammeh
Himmeh w Lammeh is a voluntary initiative led by 10 women with the aim of creating awareness and changing the littering behavior in Jordan.
Working under the umbrella of JITOA, our approach links both tourism and environment, with focus on areas around archaeological and natural sites, especially those accessible and popular for picnics.
We launched our work in 2019 with a huge campaign that mobilized some half a million volunteers from all walks of life. Some were mobilized by their companies to clean in pre-selected locations and others went on their own around their neighborhoods. We collected some 340 tons on that day.
Since then, we have created different programs with various approaches to raise awareness and create change in the random littering behavior. From occasional clean up campaigns, to planting trees, to engaging youth, men and women through educational programs.
For the past 3 years, we have been focused on Madaba governorate as a pilot area - we chose Madaba for its importance on the tourism map, its relatively small size, where change could be easier, and its proximity to Amman. We aspire to a cleaner Madaba and look forward to taking all success stories to be implemented elsewhere in Jordan.
We are also working in Amman Governorate with public schools to introduce a special educational curriculum on tourism and environment to create a more aware generation.
Our journey and successes would not have been impossible without real partnerships with government, private sector, individual volunteers and NGOs. Everyone supported our journey the way they could. We played for the SDGs World Cup under Goal No. 17 “Partnerships” for this specific reason.
In Madaba We have been working through a formal partnership agreement with ministry of agriculture, ministry of tourism, ministry of religious affairs, and through informal agreements with all other ministries in the governorate.
We offer the opportunity to private sector companies to engage with us through our different activities with their teams, families, and leave a positive mark through their CSR programs. Our activities include:
Annual Clean up campaigns
The annual clean up campaign - normally taking place on the closest Saturday to the World tourism day - end of September, which also combines world environment day celebrations. This campaign is open for any participants, including schools, corporates, banks, NGOs, etc. Normally there is no cost involved. We agree on locations with the municipality and governor, and the volunteers bring their own tools, and transport. This year the campaign will be focused on the are opposite Mt. Nebo, and information will be sent in September.
Side clean up campaigns
these can occur in any location in the governorate based on companies' requirements. We do try to avoid extreme hot or extreme cold and rainy days. These are normally offered a cost, depending on the details of organization.
Tree planting
To date we filled 2 pieces of forestry land in Madaba, 1 in Faisalieh station with 6000 trees and another near Mt. Nebo with 1000 trees. For the coming 3-4 years, we are preparing a new piece of land opposite Mt. Nebo, with a target of another 10,000-15,000 trees. Planting season is usually open between November and May the following year. We will be able to plant on the new land as soon as we get the place fenced to avoid vandalism and grazing. The planting is usually done for a fee, taken all the effort required, and we also use the Faisalieh station (which is just 5 minutes away from Mt. Nebo) as a stop for relaxation, refreshments, and lunch, which we normally order from local women, thus supporting them economically. We have tour operators that now send their clients to us to plant and enjoy the space, and we offer them a digital certificate of appreciation. In one of the activities we had 1000 names printed on small steel plates, which were put on the trees they planted. So there are different ways for you to incentivize your team or clients.
Awareness sessions for women, youth, service providers and religious preachers
We developed an educational curriculum that combines tourism and the environment and is available for awareness sessions among local communities and service providers, schools, women cooperatives. Last year we also signed an agreement with the ministry of religious affairs where we engaged women and men religious preachers in different areas (across Jordan) to promote better behavior among their students and people coming to mosques. It was a very successful campaign and is open for continuity provided the necessary financial support is available. If you are working in a certain geographic area and want to promote environmental and tourism understanding, this is a great way to do it.
Beautification projects in Madaba city tourism center
This includes planting, clean ups, painting, etc. In the past, we have done repairments and cleaning of pavements in the central tourism area, painted shops doors and electricity polls, planted trees and installed new bins. We can discuss with Ministry of Tourism office what other areas or support they may require.
We invite all tourism entities to engage with us for a cleaner and greener Jordan!