Since launching The Apple Path project in 2020, the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library (PHSL) has planted over 1,000 heirloom fruit trees in Palestine. But our goal of preserving threatened Palestinian tree crops remains a work in progress, so we continue seeking donations to fund this important project.

In the harrowing context of accelerating violence against Palestinians and increasing efforts of settlers to drive us from our beloved homeland, many of our most cherished fruit-bearing tree varieties — especially apples, apricots, plums, and almonds — are now threatened with extinction. While the Seed Library began with preserving vegetable and grain crops, which are mostly annual or biennial, we quickly realized it was equally important to preserve perennial tree crops as well. But preserving trees is more complicated than preserving seeds. They can’t be stored for decades in jars and refrigerators, but rather must be tended to regularly and kept alive. Trees require long-term tenure in a secure location, adequate provision of water, and other ongoing care including pruning, weed control, and pest management. The extra work is well worth it, however, because trees establish such deep roots — both literally and metaphorically. When we plant Palestinian trees in Palestine, we declare that we have a future.

First Steps on the Apple Path

In 2020, we planted stone fruit and apple trees. We grafted apple rootstock with precious local varieties, and bitter almonds with different sweet almond varieties and closely related apricots (mishmish), then grew them in a nursery. Soon we shared a thousand saplings with farmers across the West Bank. In Battir and Beit Jala, which are higher and cooler than other towns, the climate is perfect for many fruit and nut trees — but as terraces degrade and settlers encroach, entire varieties are at risk of disappearing.

Due to road blockages, along with settler and military activity, we are unable to access certain places — like villages in the Jenin area, where we planted trees in 2020. We have also identified additional Palestinian varieties in need of preservation, including some old apples, peaches, apricots and almonds in Nablus and Jenin (two epicenters of violence against Palestinian people). So the work must continue, and we must forge on along the Apple Path.

Those first trees planted brought the growers so much joy, but they also brought determination to stay on their land. That’s what trees do. And after five years in the ground, it’s beyond special to see them mature and to taste the fruits of our labors. We already can’t wait to do the same five years from now with these new trees.

Even as we Palestinians are forced onto ever smaller pieces of land, amid increasing violence, dispossession, and outright genocide, we will plant trees. When they bulldoze and uproot our trees, we will plant more. We plant them not only for ourselves, but also for the birds and the bugs and the soil. Wherever we find a little patch of earth, we aim to plant a tree. We know that many of them may not survive, but The Apple Path must plant them anyway. It is one of the best ways of demonstrating that we insist on having a future. This is our land, and we will never stop loving it.

Next Steps on the Apple Path

In 2026, with your help, we will plant some 2,000 trees, including the varieties listed below:

خوخ عنبري A’nbari plums

تفاح سكري Sukkari Apples

كوز صبر Kuz Saber Apples

تفاح حزوري Hazzuri Apples

تفاح بياري Byari Apples

مشمش مستكاوي Mistikawi Mishmish (Apricot)

مشمش لوزي Lozi Mishmish (Apricot)

مشمش امريكي بزرة حلوة بلدي Mishmish Americi

كرز بلدي اخضر Karaz Baladi Akhdar (Heirloom Green Cherry)

تفاح سلفيتي Salfiti Apples

We will continue expanding our tree-crop conservation program by planting in new places within Palestine, as we and all Palestinians grapple with profound questions about our future on our own land.

In the short term, we aim to raise £100,000 to purchase more seedlings and grafted plants, rehabilitate orchard terraces, pay farmers a living wage to graft, plant, prune, and fertilize trees, and support farmers’ efforts to remain on their land, among other important work.

Only your support can make it all possible.

The Apple Path 2026

In 2026, PHSL will revive The Apple Path, a project that propagated 1,000 trees in 2020, with the goal of planting another 2,000 heirloom trees across the region. Wherever trees are uprooted, with your help, we will plant another.