At the Zaatari camp in the middle of the Jordanian desert, something remarkable is happening. Despite poor soil and a lack of water, beds of flowers, herbs and vegetables are adding patches of colour to the otherwise barren backdrop. The team of experts in hydroponics (growing plants without soil) and soil health from the University of Sheffield have collaborated with a group of Syrian refugees, many of whom are experienced farmers, to grow tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and herbs using foam from mattresses.

Since aid workers often discard thousands of used foam mattresses in refugee camps across the globe, University of Sheffield scientists began developing foam “soils” in their labs in hopes of using old bed materials as a growing medium for crops. The mattress foam is used to hold the roots of a plant in place as it grows in a nutrient-rich water solution. Seeds are placed in the foam and they grow through it. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says this method consumes 70-80% less water. They have created a ‘desert garden’ at the camp in Jordan but want to make the project more sustainable and roll it out worldwide.


The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which runs Zaatari camp, provides Syrian refugees with enough money to buy staples like bread and chickpeas. Nutritious fruit and vegetables, however, are often out of reach—and traditional fresh mint tea is considered a luxury.

Zaatari currently shelters almost 80,000 people and is the world’s largest camp for people displaced by Syria’s devastating civil war. But with less than 20cm of rainfall each year, Zaatari’s ground is dry and infertile. The camp’s inhabitants, having left their old lives behind, rely on humanitarian aid to survive. This development would give families displaced by war the opportunity to have an unlimited supply of fresh produce in some of the harshest places on the planet.

These ‘recycled gardens’ use the mattresses in place of the soil, which solves two problems in one: It reuses the mountain of plastic mattresses that have piled up in the camp and it allows everyone to grow fresh food in a crowded, desert environment.