IN STEREO

It’s not only us planting – we invite people to come to plant their trees themselves. That’s how the olive tree became a tool, to grab people to Palestine to witness, to give back, to be close to the farmers, to see Area C, to experience life in the villages. We bring these people to plant olive trees, but actually we are giving them information [and] taking them around. Then on the last day, we ask them to an advocacy session [about] how [you can] work when you go back to your country to raise awareness for the Palestinians. People can now go online, then through GPS and mapping, they can click where the field is. They will see the trees that they sponsored, their names on the plaque, in place in the field. They can also read the story of the farmer and why we chose to plant these trees in that area: why it’s threatened, why it’s important.

You can get a certificate for birthdays, at Christmastime, [so] instead of giving some plastic gift, you give something environmentally friendly and peaceful. People like the idea. They like to keep in touch and follow up with the tree. They can communicate with the farmer directly and ask him any questions. And they can come whenever they want to visit the field and the tree that they have planted. If the Israelis come to destroy the tree, if it gets uprooted, we will inform them. [But] I just facilitated your planting – it’s not my business, you know. You have to take action, because you planted a tree for peace, to support a Palestinian farmer who owns the land. We send them an email with a message to share with parliament members, with the Israeli embassy, to write a report. That’s how we do the advocacy; that’s how the action comes. – Muhanad