Planting Change with Salim Zwein

In this episode of The Courage to Fall, Tony and co-host Sally Shamieh sit down with Salim Zwein, an agricultural engineer, founder of Izra’a, and passionate advocate for sustainable farming in Lebanon.

From his childhood obsession with trees to building rooftop ecosystems and founding a 200,000-member farming community, Salim shares how grief, curiosity, and grit shaped his journey.

They explore the art of reading the land, why experimentation is a privilege, and how creating a pesticide-free jungle on a rooftop became the seed for something much bigger.

Salim opens up about the real challenges of scaling a grassroots agritech platform in Lebanon and the vision driving him. A world where farmers thrive, communities connect, and nature is seen as a partner, not a problem.

His story is one of quiet resilience, systems thinking, and finding purpose in the dirt. Literally.