Jothoorna Initiative, Practice Patriotism And Turn Jordan Naked Mountains Into Forests

I’ve been having this dream of adding forests to the naked mountains of our beloved Jordan for 10-15 years. Every naked mountain from Nebo to the Dead Sea, for instance, looks to me like a forest waiting to happen. With time, every street without a sidewalk, every bus terminal without a garden, and every garden without trees added to the number of trees I wanted to plant. Along the years, I met with some who had the same idea, who are even more enthusiastic about it, the idea became ideas, better ones. Two of those inspiring persons are amongst us on twitter; Zwein Madi and Mays Zaneh. We exchanged playing the devil’s advocate together. The deal breaker was always the water; plenty of all the other inputs to planting a tree, from areas to plant, to the actual shrubs, to the people who would plant them. After corporate experience, one realizes that the bottom line for success is the proper planning and cash. With both; in this case, ground is the limit.

During the course of my 5-6 months on twitter, I was blessed to meet some of the most enriching personalities I now call friends. I was exposed and have participated in great initiatives that were kicked off from twitter and I was inspired even more. Every other week, when politics cuts us some slack, people would actually unite in conserving energy, water and other collective advocacy. I came to realize, we as a nation are still collective in nature despite all forces pulling us towards individualism. Something just needs to polish and ignite it.

What struck my attention, negatively, was the lack of definitions for practicing patriotism and the amount of litmus testing on identity and belonging done on social networks, hence I thought I’d use this idea to propose an alternative form of belonging, an optional identity. Jothoorna, meaning our roots is my proposition for this initiative which aims at creatively reconstructing the concept of belonging and identity whereby anyone may have roots to care and work for in different regions of Jordan i.e. wherever one may be from, one may choose to have roots in this or the other region of Jordan; tangible ones. I believe this concept of patriotism isn’t new but found in my favorite national song which says “and plant us on your eyelashes as olive trees and thyme” “و ازرعينا فوق أهدابك زيتوناً و زعتر”. I’m thinking to have this song as the Jothoorna anthem, actually. Regardless of the naming, Jordan deserves better from all of us regardless of our names or this initiative’s.

I want to plant a seed that people united from the bottom up can actually make a constructive positive difference. I want those trees to be another sign of solidarity, belonging and pure humanistic values. While optimistic romanticism is a virtue, it is also a burden. One that many amongst us hold and do not find something to let out in, perhaps the Jothoorna initiative is such for you, my fellow Jordanian. So I ask you to read along and by the minimum give some thoughts on how this would work better. Even better, adopt the idea, join us and make it work with your own hands.

On ground, I collected the requirements from the Ministry of Agriculture for forming a charity with subsequently explained purpose, I spoke to a dozen close friends of mine, and discussed the matter with a couple of municipalities and all were very encouraging. I asked a few Petra tourists, a few QAIA transit passengers, and a few of my friends with newborn babies if they’d donate a small amount to have a tree in their names planted in Jordan, they wanted to right then and there. A wise friend and relative of mine I met on twitter once told me that for anything to continually succeed it needs a defined purpose, structure and goal. I later added willpower to the formula, perhaps out of belief that willpower is the true petrol of Jordan. So in a nutshell, I am starting an initiative that plants trees that will later develop into a legal charity. I pledge that you continue reading past this point into the charity purpose and structure, what this initiative has already planned and where it’s planning to go on the short term. Bear in mind that all is in draft format and open for criticism and change democratically with those who chose to adopt and join the initiative and charity.

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Jothoorna Function / Purpose

Jothoorna aims to achieve the following purpose / function:

• Increase environmental awareness, especially but not exclusive to trees, forestation, carbon footprint and its economics, tree count per capita as a civilization indicator, trees as part of national identity and heritage
• Approach and lobby decision makers to push for legislations and action plans that advocate the conservation and increase of tree count within cities and in countryside
• Creatively reconstructing the concept of belonging and identity whereby anyone may have roots to care and work for in different regions of Jordan i.e. wherever one may be from, one may choose to have roots in this or the other region of Jordan; tangible ones
• Coordinate and synchronize with local communities, other charities, NGOs, nonprofit organizations, the government of HKJ, and any other entity or individual to successfully planting trees and sustaining them, urban or otherwise
• Plant trees and increase trees per capita count within populous communities
• Conserve forestry and increase existing forestry area in Jordan
• Create new forests in suitable locations after proper planning and coordination
• Replicate and develop forestry business investments that aids in sustaining the forestry environment including the human and animal elements of it
• Aid other entities and initiatives in establishing the green line stopping the rampant desertification

Jothoorna Structure

Best practices of transparency, social and governance responsibility will be aimed at. Periodic evaluation shall be conducted to reassess the approved structure. Requirements of the structure are such that it is as flat, agile, and most importantly self-sustaining as operationally possible.  As a draft proposition, structure is seen to follow the following illustration and respective explanations.

Definition of units within the structure:

The online website: An open catalyst serving the purpose of an online user-friendly knowledge management system, task management system, project management and PM reporting tool, and a transparent window for all/any stakeholders to maintain observance freely.

Scoping Teams: Volunteers not necessarily members of the charity, each from their respective points of view, submit propositions of areas to be planted by uploading the scoped area’s required material to the online system i.e. outsourcing the research division.

Design Taskforce: Professional volunteer members and employees qualified in fields such as but not limited to landscapists, agricultural engineers, civil engineers, architects, forestry experts, and environmentalists. Responsibility of this unit is to design scoped projects and supervise the implementation of the designed projects. Offsite and onsite tasks are distributed upon taskforce on a case by case basis. Members of the design taskforce are both active members of the charity and volunteers at the same time, not prohibiting them from fulfilling any other position and/or responsibility within the charity time bound or not.

Implementation Teams: Individuals or groups volunteering to implement the predesigned plantation projects, not necessarily members of the charity.

Frontend Teams: Volunteer members and employees of the charity responsible for interacting and coordinating with all internal and external stakeholders to achieve the purpose and goals of the charity. Responsibilities include but are not limited to marketing and communications, public relations, donor and vendor engagement management.

Backend Teams: Volunteer members and employees of the charity responsible for but not limited to accounting, admin, logistics, IT, and PMO.

The board: A democratically and transparently elected body as per the internal laws and regulations of the charity to be concluded with founding members.

Team/Unit positions, roles, and responsibilities: To be drafted with founders, however, charity is envisioned to have as flat as possible a hierarchy and as flexible as possible a responsibilities’ shifting between its members on a project/task basis.

Team/Unit Main Processes:

Scoping Team, ST Main Processes:

ST-Process One, Guidelines Read: The process starts with individuals or group reading the guidelines for area eligibility and area scoping, and best practice for uploading the required materials to the website for the design team.

ST-Process Two, Area Scoped: Individual or group conducts the scoping process, whereby the deliverables may be as available: Area photos, Google map, governmental plans, soil sample test results for the area that the scoping team proposes to be planted.

ST-Process Three, TBD Project Added: Individual or group answering for questions by the design team. End result is a To-Be-Designed, TBD proposed project added on the website.

Design Taskforce, DT Main Processes:

DT-Process One, TBD Notification: DT receives notification from website that TBD material for a new proposed project has been uploaded.

DT-Process Two, Tasks Creation & Assignment: Evaluation and approval of the type of proposed project, then the creation of project tasks and assignment of tasks to design taskforce members.

DT-Process Three, Design Tasks Conducted: Design tasks planned are conducted. End-result is design documentation, project implementation plan, implementation prerequisites list, bill of material, risk mitigation plan all drafted concurrently from DT assigned to project.

DT-Process Four, TBI File Added: Concurrently approve project to be designed and ready for implementation. Documentation gathered and put forward as a To-Be-Implemented, TBI File on the website.

Implementation Team, IT Main Processes:

IT-Process One, TBI Notification: Receive notification from website that TBI File with necessary documentation has been added.

IT-Process Two, Project Scheduled: Create project schedule concurrently when minimum volunteer count reaches the planned number. Assign tasks to IT. Coordinate with frontend team on kickoff date.

IT-Process Three, Project Implemented: Kick off the project and implement the tasks on the project schedule as per the design documentation.

IT-Process Four, Project Handover: Hand over completed project to the post-implementation operations team. Handover may be done to other stakeholders such as municipalities, local communities…etc.

Board, Management, Front office and Back office teams will follow international best practices to optimize the operations of the core purpose teams. Respective processes and process flows will be defined by founding members.

Jothoorna Goal

Jothoorna’s goals will be concluded concurrently with founders and will be updated and evaluated periodically to be as measurable and coherent as possible.

Jothoorna Willpower

Growing!

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Having highlighted the above and you are still reading; please allow me to highlight what has been done on ground already. I have visited Salt city a million times and watched a dozen thousand people take the bus twice a day from the bus terminal which I have no suitable words to use to describe it, but simply there isn’t a single tree in the whole terminal, there are exactly two gallon-sized trashcans, and three benches at a place that accommodates the commute of thousands of our fellow Jordanians. The same sight was in Sahab, Bagaah refugee camp, and Rumtha. I received the green light today from Salt municipality for the Salt bus terminal to be planted, painted, and to receive civil improvements. The municipality gardening and forestation division were more than enthusiastic to synch their plans with Jothoorna and have already started sketching the landscaping design. I have coordinated with the Salt youth movement “Abeesh” (who hasn’t copy pasted regional models of protest but instead made a sketched football match between the corruption and reform teams to send its symbolic message) to join the initiative along with other NGOs in the city. Abeesh are onboard to channel their members’ energy towards this constructive alternative, some local communities in Salt were approached and feedback was positive. So are the municipality and other NGO’s. For clarification, Jothoorna is non-political in nature, working with political, cultural, groups shall and will only happen if its members vote that such groups are constructive and working with them isn’t serving a particular political agenda. The Salt Municipality is a partner in making this successful just as much as the Salt Youth Group. Credit will go to both Jothoorna and other entities participating, win-win situation for all to constructively channel energy towards a collective benefit.

I am planning this bus terminal makeover event for two main purposes, one, to have as much people onboard in the scoping team and to gain as much momentum as possible to scope urban and countryside areas for plantation. Two, I want an experience to learn from, perfect and roll over in all other municipalities to gain Jothoorna momentum there and subsequently fuel the scoping teams.

In whichever capacity, is it TIME for you to plant some roots?