Al-Ma’sara village in the Bethlehem district gets its name from a Byzantine-era olive press that still exists in the village today. The village’s main economic activity is agriculture, which employs 70% of the community’s workforce. Olives are the main crops produced, in addition to grapes, cereals, and vegetables.
Since 2006, Al-Ma’sara has been leading a popular struggle against the Segregation Wall and Israeli settlements engulfing its land and threatening its residents’ livelihoods. What distinguishes the weekly demonstration of Al-Ma’sara is the strong participation of women who are leading the marches, especially Om Hasan.
Om Hasan introduces herself as a farmer and a fighter for justice and freedom in Palestine. She produces baladi products and relies on the local traditional knowledge she inherited from her parents. Being Palestinian for her is about preserving baladi products and continuing the traditions of Palestinian farming of the land. Om Hasan shares how she believes that sumud (steadfastness) on the land is the most esteemed type of resistance. She recalls how since 2015 the weekly demonstrations have stopped, the only true exercise of rootedness and opposition to the Israeli occupation is re-establishing the connection with the land, growing local crops and preserving seeds, and consuming seasonal produce directly from the farmers. Om Hasan hosts groups who come to visit Al-Ma’sara and is interested in mobilizing women on the topic of baladi farming and popular resistance on the land.
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Other services: hosting groups and giving tours.