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For centuries, the people of Palestine have tended their groves of olive, almond, and fig trees, and vegetable fields of onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and okra. Agriculture has shaped the cultural heritage and social life of Palestinians as well as their strong attachment to the land.
Palestinian agriculture is threatened by an occupation that began fifty years ago when Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War. Due to the expansion of Israeli settlements, confiscation of land, and restrictions on access to water, the area under cultivation by Palestinians decreased by 57 percent from 1980 to 2010. Today, farming accounts for only 6 percent of Palestinian GDP, down from more than 50 percent prior to 1967.
Yet, Palestinian farmers—toiling in cooperatives, greenhouses, and even backyard gardens—are determined to sustain their agriculture and remain on the land. Journalist Marda Dunsky traveled to the West Bank to meet them.
Rajai and Musaab Fayyad own The Brothers Farm in the West Bank town of Zababdeh, where they grow organic strawberries and a variety of vegetables on a quarter acre. Their greenhouse continues a family farming tradition going back two generations.
Marda Dunsky for the Cairo Review
Flappy shoots of strawberries dangle above rows of greens. The Brothers Farm combines above- and below-ground crop cultivation to maximize land use and also to reduce plant disease.
Marda Dunsky for the Cairo Review
With limited access to water, the Fayyads built a rainwater-catchment pond and stocked it with tilapia. To irrigate the plants and save on fertilizer costs, they pipe water containing fish waste from the pond into their greenhouse.
Marda Dunsky for the Cairo Review
A pint of strawberries labeled with stickers whose motif resembles that of the Palestinian flag reads: “The Brothers Farm, Zababdeh, Palestine.” The Fayyads’ strawberries compete in local markets with those grown in West Bank Jewish settlements.
Marda Dunsky for the Cairo Review
Canaan Fair Trade was established in 2004 by entrepreneur Nasser Abufarha, whose mission for the agricultural export business is to help Palestinians continue making a living off of the land in today’s modern economy.
Marda Dunsky for the Cairo Review
Canaan Fair Trade’s extra-virgin and virgin olive oil reaches markets in the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Asia, bringing in up to $7 million in annual revenues.
Marda Dunsky for the Cairo Review
Workers package almonds and zaatar on the Canaan Fair Trade factory floor.
Marda Dunsky for the Cairo Review
Faris Hussein cultivates olive trees, almonds, melons, and grains in the West Bank village of Tinik. “The olive tree is a blessing,” he says. “It gives us food, medicine, and heating.”
Marda Dunsky for the Cairo Review
Basma Qablawi started a home garden with economic aid from the Japanese government. Its yield of vegetables and herbs is mostly for home consumption, but sales brought her family up to $75 a month at their peak.
Marda Dunsky for the Cairo Review
