Skip to content
Anera
  • Who We Are
    • Column1
      • About Us
      • Our Staff
      • Anera FAQ
    • Column2
      • Resources
      • 2024 Annual Report
      • Contact Us
  • Where We Work
    • Column1
      • Palestine
        • Gaza
        • West Bank
      • Lebanon
      • Jordan
  • What We Do
    • Column1
      • Agriculture
      • Health
      • Community
      • Education
    • Column2
      • Water
      • Emergency
      • Stories
      • Videos
  • How to Help
    • Column1
      • Fundraise
      • Become a Social Media Ambassador
      • Attend an Event
      • Donor Portal
    • Column2
      • Give Monthly
      • More Ways to Give
      • Zakat Giving
      • Anera Leadership Circle
  • Blog
  • Donate
    • Monthly Giving
    • Zakat Giving
    • More Ways to Give
Anera
Donor Portal
  • Who We Are
    • Column1
      • About Us
      • Our Staff
      • Anera FAQ
    • Column2
      • Resources
      • 2024 Annual Report
      • Contact Us
  • Where We Work
    • Column1
      • Palestine
        • Gaza
        • West Bank
      • Lebanon
      • Jordan
  • What We Do
    • Column1
      • Agriculture
      • Health
      • Community
      • Education
    • Column2
      • Water
      • Emergency
      • Stories
      • Videos
  • How to Help
    • Column1
      • Fundraise
      • Become a Social Media Ambassador
      • Attend an Event
      • Donor Portal
    • Column2
      • Give Monthly
      • More Ways to Give
      • Zakat Giving
      • Anera Leadership Circle
  • Blog
  • Donate
    • Monthly Giving
    • Zakat Giving
    • More Ways to Give
  • Who We Are
  • What We Do
  • Where We Work
  • How to Help
  • Resources
  • Success Stories
  • Videos
  • Blog
  • 2024 Annual Report
Donate
AGRICULTURE

Restoring Family Farming Traditions in Gaza

May, 2022

Building greenhouses for family farmers in Gaza helps small farmers stay in business and promotes the local economy.

Tomatoes are already growing tall this spring at Shawqi Abu Suninah’s greenhouse in the southern city of Rafah.

“It’s one of the most pleasing sites,” Shawqi says of the tomato crop rapidly ripening for harvest.

For him farming is life and a gift he inherited from his forefathers.

“My earliest memories are of learning how to live with nature,” he says. His childhood home’s backyard was a forest of vegetation, in which his father grew vegetables, herbs and olive trees.

Shawqi holds a basket of his freshly-picked tomatoes.
Shawqi shows off his freshly-picked tomatoes.

Shawqi’s childhood reflects the deep roots of Palestinian family farming in rural communities. Unfortunately, Shawqi struggles to maintain the traditions that he grew up with. The challenges he faces are illustrative of the threats farmers face across Gaza.

Since the imposition of the 2007 blockade on Gaza, the challenges facing small farmers like Shawqi threaten to render this way of life extinct. The high cost of agricultural inputs have pushed farmers to abandon the cultivation of their land and increased their dependency on food aid.

The economic hardships forced him to scale back on the planting of his own family land, and instead go to work for other farmers with larger holdings. If it wasn’t for his passion for farming, he would have given up long ago.

“It was a hard feeling to work for others, seeing my land lie fallow. I was paid by the hour and it wasn't quite enough for me. My only consolation was that I am still doing what I love,” he says.

“It was a hard feeling to work for others, seeing my land lie fallow."

Still, his acumen for the work has brought him success within the limited opportunities available to him. The father of five was only 19 when he was put in charge of coordinating a group of farm workers on the nearby fields of Rafah.

Three years ago, Shawqi received a 150 square meter greenhouse from Anera, built with support from Zakat Foundation of America. It was a perfect opportunity for him to revive the family traditions.

In his second year with the greenhouse, he was able to build an expansion of the structure, paid for with the revenue from the first year’s harvest.

Three years in, he has added two extra arches to the original single-arch greenhouse. “Now I feel I have good space to grow, and I can still add another arch.”

“My situation has been improving. I harvested 20 boxes of tomatoes [that first harvest three years ago]. Now, I am expecting to double my produce, to 40 to 50 loads of tomatoes per season,” he says.

Shawki's family helps pick the tomatoes.
“My kids help me out every day when they get back from school."

“For Palestinians, agriculture is more than just a source of income," Shawqi observes. "It is tied to the histories of Palestinians’ pride. We are born and raised on this land and just as the old saying goes: land will return whatever love and care you give to it.”

“For Palestinians, agriculture is more than just a source of income."

Sign up for emails from Anera!

!
Sign Up
Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.
SHARE THIS STORY

Related Stories

A Stitch of Dignity

Read More →

Construction of Hope in Lebanon

Read More →

$219 M

worth of aid to serve millions of Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians and Jordanians, in calendar year 2024

Contact Us

WHO WE ARE

Site Map

  • Who We Are
  • Where We Work
  • What We Do
  • How to Help
  • Donor Portal
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Stories
  • Join Our Team
  • Contact Us

More About Anera

Anera addresses the development and relief needs of refugees and vulnerable communities in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. 

Anera is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (tax-ID number 52-0882226). Your gift is secure and tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Follow Us on Social Media

© Anera, 2025 | Print This Page | Site Credit
  • FAQ
  • TRUSTED & RESPECTED
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SITE MAP
 Share This
 Facebook
 WhatsApp
 LinkedIn
 Email

Share on Mastodon