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’I don't see Palestine as an isolated story‘: An interview with Vivien Sansour, founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library

December 5, 2025

Vivien Sansour, founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, created the initiative out of a deep desire to preserve Palestinian agricultural heritage and cultural identity threatened by occupation and displacement. Rather than pursuing traditional academic study, she chose to visit elders and villages throughout Palestine to collect indigenous seeds and the stories attached to them, recognizing that these agricultural varieties represent thousands of years of relationship between people, land, and crops. Her work expanded beyond Palestine into a global grassroots movement as others facing oppression and cultural loss connected with her mission.

Who is affected

  • Palestinian farmers and communities whose farmland has been destroyed or made inaccessible
  • Vivien Sansour and the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library
  • Palestinian elders holding traditional agricultural knowledge
  • Indigenous people and communities globally experiencing cultural loss and oppression
  • People participating in the global grassroots initiative connected to the Seed Library

What action is being taken

  • The Palestine Heirloom Seed Library is collecting, preserving, and propagating traditional Palestinian seed varieties
  • Sansour is sharing seeds and stories with communities globally
  • The Library runs a global grassroots initiative extending beyond Palestine
  • Grassroots activists worldwide are raising their voices against injustice

Why it matters

  • The preservation of heirloom seeds represents more than agricultural biodiversity—it maintains living connections to Palestinian history, culture, and land relationships built over thousands of years. These crop varieties were developed through generations of co-creation between people, soil, water, and air, making them irreplaceable repositories of both biological and cultural knowledge. The destruction of farmland eliminates the ability to continue these essential relationships that allow cultural continuity. Sansour positions Palestine as a "microcosm" and "test run" for larger global crises involving climate change, hyper-capitalism, and violence, making this local preservation work relevant to worldwide struggles for autonomy and survival.

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: Global Voices

’I don't see Palestine as an isolated story‘: An interview with Vivien Sansour, founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library