US: California activists plant smuggled Palestinian watermelon seeds

Published Jun 24, 2024

Tridge summary

Community activists in Cuyama Valley, California, have planted 12 watermelon seeds smuggled from Palestine, as part of a project by the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. The library aims to preserve seeds that are suitable for different micro-climates, as selected by Palestinian farmers. The watermelon variety planted, originally from Jenin, nearly faced extinction under occupation but is now being revived by a new generation of agriculturalists.

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Original content

Community activists at Quail Springs in Cuyama Valley, California, planted 12 watermelon plants cultivated from seeds smuggled out of Palestine. The planting ceremony on June 8 was made possible by the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, founded by Vivien Sansour, Palestinian agriculturalist.“The way our traditional agriculture practices developed is that they really did co-evolve with their different micro-climate. So we have a collection of seeds … that our ancestors, our great grandmothers, selected varieties [of] that were kind to the micro-climate,” Sansour said in an interview with Sasha Rabin. This particular type of watermelon originated in Jenin. An article entitled, “The Lost Watermelon of Jenin,” states that “Jenin is a city located in the northern West Bank ...

Source: Workers