Hope in the ruins: Seeds, plants, and possibilities of regeneration

Abstract

As space in the West Bank is increasingly threatened, Palestinians are turning to agro-activism to reclaim it. Alongside the established olive activism, there has been a flourishing of generative projects by which my interlocutors attempt to reclaim their space from the environmental damages of the ongoing occupation. I situate these regenerative practices in anthropological discourses about imperial ruins and the blasted landscapes of capitalist ruins. In Palestine, the debris of Israeli military incursions and the ruination of the environment with “security” infrastructures like the Wall produce ongoing occupation ruins. However, as in Tsing’s work—where ruins are presented as productive of new possibilities—here, too, hope underpins my interlocutors’ projects of planting, saving, and regenerating seeds. Their projects involve reclaiming nature through heritage seeds, eco-farming initiatives, farming cooperatives, and food circulation initiatives, thereby encouraging Palestinian food reclamation. Through their activism, Palestinians regenerate a sense of value in themselves and their futures as they attempt to reclaim their landscapes in an embodied way, rather than giving in to ruination.