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Grow Your Food – Harvest Your Freedom
Resistant Local Economy – Farkha Village, Palestine
Farkha Village, located in the Salfit Governorate of Palestine, has long been known for its deeply rooted agricultural identity. For generations, local families have preserved rich farming traditions and extensive ecological knowledge, maintaining traditional agricultural practices until today.
The village contains approximately 3,000 dunums of agricultural land — nearly half of its total area — despite having a population of only around 1,900 residents. These lands include:
Until the mid-1990s, agriculture and livestock were the primary sources of food and income for the village. Nearly all agricultural lands were actively cultivated, and livestock farming was an essential part of daily life.
However, over the years, agriculture in Farkha gradually declined due to several factors, including:
As a result, many agricultural lands were abandoned, except for some olive groves and household gardens. Despite these challenges, Farkha remains internationally recognized for producing high-quality organic olive oil. Around 400 dunums are officially certified as organic farms, exporting olive oil to several European countries since 2003.
The Land is Our Cooperative – Farkha
In 2019, a group of young people from Farkha established The Land is Our Cooperative – Farkha, a grassroots community initiative aiming to revive agriculture, strengthen food sovereignty, and encourage local self-sufficiency.
The cooperative launched a village-wide campaign under the slogan:
“Grow Your Food – Harvest Your Freedom”
The initiative focuses on restoring home gardens and empowering families to produce their own food using traditional and ecological farming methods.
Between 2019 and 2023:
Today, the cooperative is working to transform these gardens into fully ecological farms.
Reviving Field Agriculture and Livestock
Since 2022, the cooperative has expanded its work to include the restoration of field crops such as:
This initiative directly supports the revival of livestock farming, which historically formed a central part of the village economy. In the early 1990s, nearly every household raised sheep and working animals, with an estimated 3,000 sheep across the village.
The results have been remarkable:
This has already contributed to a visible return of livestock breeding in the village.
Current Challenges
One of the biggest threats facing farmers today is the destruction of crops by wild boars released into the area, alongside the absence of effective governmental protection or agricultural support systems.
To confront these challenges, the cooperative launched a collective initiative to fence approximately 52 dunums of agricultural land surrounding the old town area. These lands historically served as the village’s food basket and grazing area.
Protecting and cultivating these lands collectively helps ensure:
Our Vision
We believe that collective farming, ecological agriculture, volunteerism, and local solidarity are essential tools for strengthening Palestinian resilience and preserving the relationship between people and land.
Through community participation and practical action, we are building a living model of resistance through agriculture, self-sufficiency, and cooperation.
The Land is Our Cooperative – Farkha Farkha Village – Salfit Governorate – Palestine 🇵🇸🌿
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