KEEPERS OF THE BAHA’I GARDENS

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Located in Haifa, Israel, the Baha’i Gardens are composed of steep lawns, floral terraces, and wild forests that are part of the Baháʼí World Centre on the slopes of Mount Carmel. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008, this is the spiritual and administrative center of the Baháʼí Faith. Apart from a few local salaried workers, the vast majority of the 130 gardeners are Baha'i volunteers, with no previous gardening experience, who come for a few months to a few years at a time from around the world to serve God, their community, and themselves by maintaining the landscape. Their work, driven by devotion and a sense of mission, offers a living archive of the founding fathers’ original vision: a peaceful space that sanctifies aesthetics, order, and beauty.

 

With 8 million followers worldwide, the Baha'i Faith is based in 247 countries and territories, representing over 2,100 different ethnic groups. Each year, hundreds of thousands of tourists and pilgrims visit the gardens, enjoying the fruits of the labor of these invisible volunteer gardeners who tend to them daily. In small, familial crews, they take care of 49.5 acres of land surrounding the Shrine of the Báb, one of Israel’s most iconic landmarks and the second holiest place for Baha'is - after the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh in Acre. However, despite the religious importance of the gardens, and their extensive global recognition, very little is known about their keepers.

 

This work in progress aims to tell their story.