September 04, 2023

Adopt an Olive Tree in Palestine: donate to support Palestinian farmers today

The olive tree is known as a symbol of steadfastness in Palestine. This tree is an incredible source of economic stability for many Palestinians, and embodies Palestinians’ unflinching relationship to the land. As these trees are cared for, they produce a bounty of good things that sustain Palestinians throughout the year. But without this maintenance, these trees can be baren or produce limited, small fruits.

Adopting an olive tree from our friends at Mashjar Juthour is a wonderful way to help care for this beautiful tree and support the biodiversity of Palestine! You can be a part of a vital project that not only keeps these trees healthy, but you can also have a hand in caring for a tree that is so vital to Palestinian culture.

In fact, the olive tree is the primary farming tree in Palestine today. It has so many uses, of course with the shade it provides along with the strength it symbolizes for Palestinians. But these trees also provide so much even down to each individual leaf. The leaves hold medicinal properties and can be made into tea, the olives themselves and their oil create delicious foods, and the wood can be carved into necessities and even fun trinkets. The olive pomace, which is the byproduct left over from crushing olives for their oil, can be used to feed animals, can be composted and used as fertilizer, and it can even be made into bricks that you burn for warmth in Palestinian winters.

It may seem easy just to plant a tree and have this beautiful natural resource at your fingertips. But these are living plants that need love and care. These trees must have maintenance in order to produce all these incredible things mentioned before. So while planting a tree may seem like a cheap and simple task, that maintenance costs more.

That’s why adopting an olive tree is so important. This project allows you to have a hand in maintaining a tree to ensure that it’s able to produce good fruit and all the beautiful products it can. You’re actively keeping these beautiful symbolic trees alive and well, and helping to maintain the Palestinian biodiversity around those trees that is so necessary in maintaining a flourishing and healthy environment.

With this project, the olive tree you adopt gets pruned annually and the harmful shoots that grow from the base of the tree are removed. Your tree is also regularly fertilized and each olive is harvested by hand. The larger olives are fermented and the rest are pressed into oil, which is sent to you as a thank you gift for keeping this beautiful tree protected and maintained!