The Permaculture & Palestine Network

By Alfred Decker & Tomas Remiarz

As a permaculture community, we cannot be silent in the face of the genocide in Palestine. It is our moral duty to stand up and confront the destruction:

• More than 80 percent of Gaza’s total cropland area has been damaged (UN – FAO).
• At least 70% of Gaza buildings destroyed (UN, Aug 2025).
• More than 20,000 children for acute malnutrition since April 2025. Catastrophic levels of food insecurity are projected for entire population by September (UN, July 2025).
• Last week the Israeli military uprooted 10,000 olive trees in al-Mughayyir village (West Bank). Since 1967, the Israeli government has uprooted over 800,000 olive trees, and bulldozed hundreds of miles of agricultural land in Palestine (Jewish Voice for Peace).

In July and August, a group of permaculturalists organised two online talks in English and one in French called, “Permaculture & Palestine” (PePa). About 260 people signed up for the talks, signalling both the passion that some people feel about acting in solidarity with Palestine, and the desperation about the genocide and the complicity of Western governments in aiding and abetting it. 

From these talks we have developed the beginning of what is intended to be a long-term Palestine solidarity network. The PePa network is growing and the organisation is taking place on a Telegram group and email list. So far over a hundred people have joined the Telegram group and there are working groups devoted to seeds, social media and outreach, and other initiatives, as well as groups in French, Italian and Spanish. 

The main task that we have worked on so far is a collective document called, “Permaculture & Palestine: A Statement from the Movement.” Edited by several dozen people from many different countries, the statement has just been published HERE. It explains the situation in Palestine and calls on permaculturists – individually and collectively – to get involved in a variety of ways:

Speak clearly against genocide, apartheid, and ecocide.

Amplify Palestinian knowledge and voices in courses, gatherings, and projects.

Join or form working groups to strategize long-term solidarity.

Support Palestinian-led initiatives, cooperatives, Baladi farming (traditional, small-scale agriculture focused on local, heirloom crop varieties and sustainable practices), food sovereignty, and ecological restoration.

Defend the right of Palestinians to lead their own post-war recovery and reconstruction in Gaza. Stand against international post-war plans that seek to displace Palestinians and result in more land theft, occupation, and violence.

Engage with the BDS campaign (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) and support businesses and companies that do not profit from the Economy of Genocide
Protest, take to the streets, and disrupt business as usual. 

Develop online and in-person training for Palestinians, both in their territory and for those displaced in the diaspora.

Organise “Homeplaces” and support networks where Palestinians can live safely until they are able to return home.

Refuse complicity—by examining land use, institutional funding, and silence.

Recognise the challenge given to our movement by indigenous groups expressed in their ‘Whitewashed hope’ statement.

Include discussion on colonisation and genocide in Palestine in our training courses and PDCs.

While it is clear that permaculture is a “solutionary” instead of a revolutionary or protest movement, it can also be said that “Permaculture without People Care is just gardening.” 

​​While it is clear that permaculture is a “solutionary” instead of a revolutionary or protest movement, it can also be said that “Permaculture without People Care is just gardening.” For permaculturists, food and seed sovereignty is a natural area of focus. In this context, the destruction of the Palestinian seed bank in Hebron was a calculated act of ecological vandalism, cultural erasure and attack on fundamental human needs. Within PePa, a subgroup is exploring how we can support Palestinians to restore this vital resource and we invite all permaculturists to join us in this effort.

Join us in applying permaculture ethics toward stopping the genocide and working to regenerate the land and culture of the Levant. 

To get involved, please sign and circulate the statement, which has grown from shared conversations among permaculture practitioners across diverse lands and experiences.

Join the Permaculture & Palestine Telegram group by clicking HERE, the email list by clicking HERE or alternatively send an email to: permaculture-palestine-subscribe@lists.riseup.net to subscribe (don’t forget to check your inbox for a confirmation email).

Check out the PePa Instagram page HERE

And the PePa Facebook page HERE 

Solidarity & permaculture for all!