By building a women’s village we are reclaiming communal and meaningful forms of living, grounded in a diverse society.
Jinwar is a place for women who want to live a free life with other women and children, women who do not want to get married, women who lost their husbands in war or who were facing violence in their families.
In all phases of history women have played a central role in building society. Women managed the basis of life, they were inventing methods and tools to solve problems in society and creating bonds of solidarity and mutual support.
“We are a community of women and their children who have decided to create a free community life. Jinwar is a project driven by the women’s movement in the north and east of Syria to promote an ecological, self-sustainable, violence-free space for women.”
Ecology
From the beginning on it has been an important aim to create sustainable relations with nature and the surroundings. The houses in Jinwar have been built with mud bricks. This is the traditional way of building in the region, it is sustainable and adjusted to the climatic conditions. Apart from the construction the women in Jinwar bring a lot of knowledge about traditional forms of gardening.
Democratic Selforganization
Jinwar is a place where Kurdish, Arab, Yezidian women and women of other ethnicities and identities are living together, aiming to develop communal live in sisterhood and respect. Decisions concerning the life and work are being taken in the village assembly, solutions for problems and conflicts can be found on a common ground.
Women’s economy
Based on these experiences the women in Jinwar are looking to create a communal economy which is largely self-sustainable and in touch with other cooperatives in the region. Apart from the garden and agricultural production the women started to run a bakery, a small village store and the communal project of preparing dried vegetables for the winter that can be sold as well cooperatively.
Women’s health
ŞîfaJin is medical space in Jinwar village. Health care is organized by the women of the village themselves and aims, in addition to caring for those who live in Jinwar, to restore knowledge and understanding of health and life according to a society that has to be democratic, ecological and in which women are free.
Education
In any process of liberation education is an essential aspect. Apart from learning in every day life women and children in Jinwar are learning and sharing knowledge in the school and the academy. The school provides education for all children in their mother tongues from the first to the sixth grade. In the academy women are attending education and share knowledge about many different fields of life and society.
For a Common Future
Women are moving to Jinwar and the communal works are being developed – in the bakery, the academy, the school, the health center, the garden, the village store. The village is becoming more and more alive, women are improving their houses, the village council is improving its work, conflicts will be solved together and ideas will be put to practice.
“We hope that Jinwar can inspire women in the whole world to get together, to share their knowledge and experiences, to build spaces of liberation, empowerment and collectivity in order to inspire the whole society.”