Cultivating livelihoods in Palestine

Halima Farash leads a women's agricultural cooperative near Hebron in the West Bank. The cooperative benefits from a seed distribution program supported by the Applied Research Institute, Jerusalem, an MCC partner organization. Applied Research Institute helps rural households in the West Bank improve home gardens and field crops.

Nutritious food products are produced by women involved in a women's agricultural cooperative in the West Bank. This cooperative is receiving MCC-supported assistance to help improve access to food and generate income by selling their products when there is a surplus. This project is implemented by Applied Research Institute, Jerusalem.

Beekeeping training is giving members of a women's agricultural cooperative in the West Bank the opportunity to improve their livelihoods. This MCC-supported training is provided by MCC partner organization Applied Research Institute, Jerusalem.

Ayed Abdel Azil, a research associate for Applied Research Institute, Jerusalem, leads training sessions on beekeeping for a women’s agricultural cooperative in the West Bank.

A new project to be implemented later this year in the Hebron area by MCC partner organization The Centre for Agricultural Services, will improve water resources for Abdel Majid Al-Khatib who has bee hives on his land, is located close to Israeli settlements. Scarcity of water due to Israeli water restrictions and reduced rainfall in recent years prevents farmers from cultivating their land.

A banner hung near the Bethlehem checkpoint in the Israeli separation barrier bears the word "peace" in English, Hebrew and Arabic. MCC works in partnership with organizations committed to nonviolence and a future of peace, justice and reconciliation for Palestinians and Israelis.

Abdel Majid Al-Khatib owns land in the West Bank near an Israeli settlement and Israeli military tower. This is considered marginal land because it is near the Israeli separation wall and under threat of confiscation. Al-Khatib and other farmers will benefit from a MCC-supported water project that will be implemented later this year by The Centre for Agricultural Services.

Abdul-Latif Khaled, left, a hydrologist with Palestinian Hydrology Group, and Mahmoud Muhammed Yusif, a Palestinian farmer in the West Bank, examine a permit that gives Yusif access to his land located on the other side of an Israeli separation barrier. The permit does not guarantee access to his land because the Israeli military can close the security gates at any time.

Water provided through a MCC-supported groundwater well rehabilitation project enables Abdel Hafiz to irrigate the tomatoes growing in his greenhouse in the West Bank. The project, implemented by the Palestinian Hydrology Group, gives farmers in the West Bank communities of Jayous and Qalqliyia improved access to water.

Abdul-Latif Khaled, left, a hydrologist with Palestinian Hydrology Group meets with pump manager and Palestinian farmer, Khalil Mohammed Yousef, by a rehabilitated well pump and motor. This rehabilitation project is supported by contributions to MCC’s account in the Foods Resource Bank, which is owned by a number of U.S. church groups including MCC U.S.

Dan Wiens, left, coordinator of MCC’s water and agriculture programs, and Abdul-Latif Khalid, a hydrologist working for the Palestinian Hydrology Group, visit Khalid’s uncle’s orange grove near the Palestinian village of Jayous.

The gift of hospitality in many Palestinian homes in the West Bank includes sweet tea and an abundance of oranges, clementines and guava. MCC-supported water projects increase food production and improve livelihoods in a region that is experiencing drought and on-going water restrictions.