Life, Death and Laughter as Egypt Farmers Battle Climate Change
Egypt is turning to community theater to teach farmers how to save water and cope with hotter temperatures.
Actors participate in a play about climate change in the village of El-Boghdadi.
Photographer: Sima Diab/Bloomberg
Packed into an open-air theater to watch a play on climate change, the Egyptian villagers near the ancient city of Luxor rock with laughter -- even though it’s a performance about life and death.
“What’s your secret?” asks one actor, playing a farmer who notices his neighbor’s wheat crop is twice the size of his own. “I’m adapting to al-taghayorat al-monakhiya,” the other actor replies, using the Arabic term for climate change. “Al-molokhiya?,” the first says, sparking comic confusion by naming a traditional stew made from jute mallow leaves.