“Farming in the Occupied Territories is not easy. Land confiscation aside, Palestinians face restricted access to water; sporadic land ownership; and overworked and polluted soil. This all contributes to many leaving their land in search of easier ways to support themselves and their families.
When I recently traveled to Palestine, I was surprised to learn how dependent Palestinians have become on Israel to survive. With a lack of work and an aid-reliant economy close to collapse, occupation has normalized. Making enough money to survive is the current battle. Of those that qualify for the hard to get work permits, many thousands of Palestinians make the journey into Israel to jobs, some even working on the construction of the separation walls and settlements that rob them of their land.
Murad Al Khuffash challenges this set of circumstances by engaging in permaculture, working with nature to create sustainable, self-sufficient ecosystems for growing food.
“Permaculture has a lot of benefits for Palestinians living under the occupation” he says, “If everyone starts to grow their own food in their garden or backyard then they won’t have to work in Israel or abroad. They will have their own food.”

For more on this story check out http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/permaculture-makes-farming-in-occupied-territories-easier/