On The Ground will be bringing 500 olive trees to each community to donate and help plant. Donations raised during the run will be used to purchase more trees and provide college scholarships to the children of the farmers.
Here is a rough itinerary of the Run with a little info about each area. more to come!
Day 1, Saturday Feb. 4:The Run Across Palestine will depart from At-Tuwani (Arabic: ﺍﻟﻃﻮﺍﻧﻲ or ﺍﻟتوانة), a small village in the South Hebron Hills where many residents live in caves. Several homes in At-Tuwani are at risk of being demolished by the Israeli government because they are not included in the Israeli Civil Administration’s master plan. The Run will arrive in Beit Ummar.
Day 2, Sunday Feb. 5:
The Run departs Beit Ummar (Arabic: بيت اُمّر), which is located 11 kilometers northwest of Hebron. Part of the village straddles Road 60 and nearby settlements have taken over much of the Palestinians’ land and access to farming fields. Beit Ummar is mostly agricultural and is noted for its many grape vines and culinary tradition of stuffed grape leaves known as waraq al-’inib and a grape syrup called dibs. The Run arrives in Jerusalem.
Day 3, Monday, Feb. 6:
The Run leaves East Jerusalem, which includes the Old City and some of the holiest sites of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, such as the Temple Mount, Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We arrive in Arura & Mazarea El Noubani
Day 4, Tuesday, Feb. 7:
Leaves Arura & Mazarea El Noubani
Arrives in Nos Ijbeal.
Day 5, Wednesday, Feb. 8:
Leaves Nos Ijbeal, home of 450 people who farm in 977.5 Dunoms. This small village has one of the first established PFTA cooperatives that started with only five farmers. Today there are 18 members in the Nus Ijbail cooperative producing around 15 tons of olive oil each year.
Arrives Birqin. With a 45 -member PFTA cooperative Burqin’s produces over 80 tons of olive oil per year. Known as Arous Falastin or Palestine’s Bride, Burqin has historical significance in the Christian tradition as the village where Jesus is said to have performed the miracle of curing the lepers.
Celebation at Canaan Fair Trade Headquarters!
