Rooted in Land: Art and Botany from Mashjar Juthour

Mashjar Juthour is a permaculture sanctuary on the edge of Ramallah. It is a place where plants grow, where children learn the names of things, and where Palestinian natural heritage is documented, illustrated, and kept alive.

The paper goods and botanical illustrations we carry from Mashjar Juthour are produced in collaboration with artists and designers who work with the sanctuary — rooted, literally, in the landscape of the West Bank.

Lois Nakhleh and Joan Musgrave's Botanical Illustrations

The botanical art that forms the heart of Mashjar Juthour's print and paper range was created by Lois Nakhleh and Joan Musgrave— two artists whose detailed illustrations of Palestinian wildflowers, trees, and plants document species that are native to this land, many of which are threatened by land confiscation, deforestation, and displacement.

Joan Musgrave came to live in Jerusalem in 2000, where she shared in an art group and met Lois Nakhleh. The two then worked together to produce the Palestinian wildflower calendars.

Lois Nakhleh has been painting wildflowers of our region for the last 17 years, engaging watercolor as her painting medium of choice. 

Their work is scientific in its accuracy and beautiful in its execution. The Palestinian Wildflowers series — produced as a notebook and a calendar — features plant species whose Arabic and Latin names are given alongside each illustration, building a visual vocabulary of Palestinian natural heritage.

Educational Packets and Palestinian Designers

Beyond the botanical illustrations, Mashjar Juthour works with Palestinian graphic designers and illustrators to produce educational materials for children and families — activity packets, nature guides, and illustrated resources that connect people to the land and its names.

These materials are used in the sanctuary's own education programmes as well as being made available for home and school use. They are one of the ways Mashjar Juthour extends its work beyond the physical site — turning the sanctuary into something that can travel.