Reef in Arabic means countryside, the fertile land, and relates to “reef alayn”, the part of the eye that protects it when it blinks. This symbolises my passion for nature, learning from and with it while observing its beauty. Born and raised in Jordan, Reef lives and works in this region she feels strongly connected to. After working in academia, for private companies and in the NGO sector, Reef realised how much she didn’t know and how what she knew came from institutions feeding from destroying the fabric of nature and communities. Ten years ago, she joined friend and former colleague Dina to start Taghmees Social Kitchen, a homegrown learning medium. “Taghmees” translates to immerse, immerse in life and food as a way of bringing people together. There they question what enters our mind and body and take an active role in producing the meaning in this life rather than being just consumers. They use their own stories as a way of learning and reflect on different life experiences.
