For more than forty years, Muna Taneeb and her family have cultivated their land in Tulkarem. Over those decades, the farm became much more than a source of income. It became the family’s home of agricultural knowledge, work, memories and dreams: a place built gradually through years of planting, harvesting, learning and perseverance.
Hakouratna Agroecological Farm is located in an exceptionally difficult and sensitive area, directly beside the Separation Wall and near the Jashouri industrial area and factory. Yet despite the pressures and restrictions surrounding them, Muna, Fayez Odeh Taneeb and their family remained committed to their land and continued to cultivate and develop it.
Nearly Two Decades of Partnership with PFU
For approximately twenty years, the Palestinian Farmers’ Union (PFU) has accompanied and supported the Taneeb family and Hakouratna Farm through different agricultural and development initiatives.
Over the years, the farm has been part of PFU’s broader efforts to support Palestinian farmers, strengthen sustainable agricultural production, introduce innovative practices, build farmers’ resilience and preserve productive agricultural land under increasingly difficult conditions.
Among these different interventions, one of the remarkable projects was the establishment of a hydroponic production unit within Hakouratna Farm for the benefit of the Irtah Cooperative in Tulkarem. The initiative was funded by the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD) through PFU’s long-standing partner, Associació Catalana per la Pau (ACP) in Barcelona.
The hydroponic unit is therefore one example among a much longer history of projects, cooperation and support connected to the farm. It demonstrated how Hakouratna could serve not only the Taneeb family, but also farmers and cooperative members in the surrounding community.
Through these years, Hakouratna became a place where family farming, agroecology, agricultural innovation, cooperative action and international solidarity came together.
Then the Family Was Ordered to Dismantle What They Had Built
Today, after more than forty years of cultivating this land, the Taneeb family has received a demolition order affecting the farm’s facilities.
The most painful reality is that Muna and her family have been obliged to deconstruct parts of their own farm with their own hands.
They are not simply dismantling greenhouses, pipes, irrigation systems or metal structures.
They are being forced to dismantle something they spent decades building.
Every structure carries a history. Every corner of the farm holds memories of seasons of planting and harvesting, of family members working together, of difficult years they managed to overcome, of farmers visiting and learning, and of projects implemented with Palestinian and international partners.
For Muna and her family, they are not simply deconstructing agricultural facilities.
They are deconstructing their farm, their dreams and their memories.
More Than the Loss of Physical Infrastructure
A farm cannot be measured only by the monetary value of the structures standing on it.
A greenhouse is not simply metal and plastic.
An irrigation network is not simply pipes.
A hydroponic unit is not simply agricultural technology.
And Hakouratna is not simply a collection of agricultural facilities.
It represents more than forty years of family labour and agricultural production, nearly two decades of partnership with PFU, multiple development interventions, investments by Palestinian and international partners, knowledge accumulated and shared with other farmers, and a family’s determination to remain productive on its land.
This is why what is happening today is so painful for PFU. We are not watching the dismantling of a farm that we know only through photographs or reports. We are watching the dismantling of a place and a farming family that PFU has accompanied for many years.
We remember the projects implemented there, the farmers who benefited, the ideas that were tested, and the hope invested in demonstrating that Palestinian agriculture could continue to innovate and survive even under extremely difficult circumstances.
Hakouratna Must Not Disappear in Silence
Muna’s story deserves to be heard.
It is the story of a woman and a farming family who continued cultivating their land despite years of pressure. It is the story of a farm located beside the Separation Wall that nevertheless remained productive. It is also the story of decades of Palestinian effort supported by partnerships and international solidarity.
Today, Muna and her family may be forced to dismantle parts of what they built.
But the history of Hakouratna cannot be dismantled.
The structures can be taken apart, but forty years of work cannot be taken apart.
The agricultural investments can be threatened, but the knowledge created and shared there cannot be erased.
The farm can be physically damaged, but the family’s connection to its land, its memories and its determination to cultivate cannot simply be demolished.
Today, Muna and her family are dismantling structures they spent decades building. They are trying to save what can still be saved. But they should not have to face this moment alone. Their story, their work and Hakouratna’s history must be seen, heard and remembered.
What this story shows
- More than forty years of family farming, and nearly two decades of partnership, can be undone by a single demolition order.
- A farm’s value goes beyond its structures: it holds knowledge, memory, shared projects and a family’s determination to stay productive on its land.
- Hakouratna served not only the Taneeb family but also farmers and cooperative members in the surrounding community.
- The family should not have to face this moment alone; their story asks to be seen, heard and remembered.
What would make a difference
Not to face this alone; Hakouratna’s history remembered.
