Soul & Soil Pt. IV
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There's a wonderful intimacy to your writing that can't be found in most climate media.
LISTENING: to my chair creak
FEELING: excited about my upcoming halloween party
SEEING: a joint sit on my ashtray
Saad Dagher is a farmer who's been studying agroecology since 1996. He works regularly with volunteers in Ramallah on The Humanistic Farm. He tends to the land, but he's also an expert who shares his knowledge and trains other farmers on how to treat the soil with more love and care.
He sees agroecology — the practice of farming in sync with the earth and its motions — as a way to build independence among Palestinian farmers. After all, pesticides and chemicals have one source across historical Palestine. And that's Israel. He wants to see a Palestine where farmers no longer have to rely on their oppressors to build their livelihoods.
Here's what he had to say.
READ PARTS I, II, AND III HERE, HERE, AND HERE.
On Saad Dagher's farm in Ramallah, he keeps a photo by one particular olive tree. The image is of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American activist an Israeli bulldozer crushed to death in 2003. Her memory lives on; the tree is named after her.
Palestinians know well the cost of being on the land. Farmers face violence all the time at the hands of their occupiers. They recognize the cost when volunteers visit and put their lives on the line to support them. Resistance comes in many forms.
"Agriculture is among the methods and tools that can help us be liberated," he said in Arabic through a translator.
Unlike many of the voices in this series, Dagher wants to be named. He regularly speaks around the globe about his work to restore organic and traditional farming methods to Palestine. He wants to see his fellow farmers move away from pesticides, chemicals, and genetically modified seeds.
The urgency to make this practice mainstream only grows as climate change makes the region drier. This season, for instance, his olive harvest will be smaller. Even when there isn't as much to gather, however, volunteers are needed.
They can help dig new irrigation channels. They can repair stone walls or fences for the animals. During last year's holiday season, three people arrived from France. In March, another French volunteer stayed one month. Many times, these helpers come with their own expertise that can help locals. Mutual exchange can be beautiful.
Dugher hopes volunteers can take these messages beyond Palestine to help correct the false image that exists of Palestinians.
"We want them to convey the reality of the Palestinian situation and the reality of colonialism," he said. "Nothing more."
Over the last two years, he's been watching the world erupt in support of Palestine. The student encampments. Aaron Bushnell's self-immolation. "We see the change," Dagher said.
It's not enough — the genocide continues, after all — but every action sends a wave. All we need is one colossal enough to disrupt the status quo. 🌀
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Rest in Power
While we can't say for certain that climate change led to these specific weather events (we need attribution studies for that), we do know that the Earth's rising temperatures are already creating more frequent and/or stronger disasters like these.
Tropical Storm Fengshen killed at least eight people in the Philippines over the weekend.
Currently Reading
We need to amplify trans leaders in the climate space now more than ever. Samantha Harrington at Yale Climate Connections has a profile you all need to read.
Rooftop solar jobs for formerly incarcerated folks in Houston? Adam Mahoney's got the story for Capital B.
Amudalat Ajasa and Daniel Wolfe have an important story out for The Washington Post on how people detained in ICE facilities are more vulnerable to extreme heat than most people incarcerated.
What if whales were given the same rights as people? Rachel Ramirez digs in for Atmos.
If you need another reason to be mad at the Democrats, Grist's Kate Yoder has you covered.
Art
I forgot to schedule this because I was enjoying the day with my dear friend Jennifer Luxton, who’s visiting me for a few days! So sorry!
Next week will be the final installment in this series. I really hope y'all have enjoyed it.
- Yessenia xx
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