Tree House at Hamdouna Farm
Project Story
A tree-house eco-café that Veranda designed and built around a century-old sycamore at Hamdouna Farm, turning a family farm into a place people travel to visit.
| Location | Hamdouna Farm, Beit Lahia, northern Gaza |
|---|---|
| Year | 2021 |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Eco-tourism · Small structure |
| Veranda’s role | Design and construction |
| Client | Farm owner Abu Ra’fat |
The challenge
Farmer Abu Ra’fat wanted to turn his family farm into an eco-tourism destination, a plan he had carried for most of his life. The farm’s strongest asset was a century-old sycamore he had lived beside for 40 years.
The brief was a place for visitors that kept the tree at the centre of the farm’s identity, on a small budget and with very limited access to new building materials.
The design idea
Instead of building beside the tree, we built around it. The platform sits inside the sycamore’s canopy, so visitors sit among the branches rather than looking up at them. A separate timber stair keeps access simple, and the structure works as an eco-café: a reason for people to come, stay and return.
Key design decision
We chose to build with recycled materials wherever we could, about half of the build. This kept costs within the farm’s means, reduced dependence on imported materials, and matched the farm’s story of memory and reuse.
Materials and construction
- About 50% recycled materials
- Timber platform with railings, floor seating and low tables
- Separate timber stair to the platform
- Shaded café seating at ground level
- Designed and built on site by Veranda’s team
Results
- An eco-café now operates at the farm.
- Local visitors came to see the transformation and proposed new uses: storytelling nights, traditional food tastings and eco-workshops.
- Three other farm owners in the area began exploring similar projects.
That tree has been with me for 40 years. Now it holds more than branches, it holds a dream I thought I’d never realize.
Abu Ra’fat, farm owner