This short document produced by the Gaza Urban and Periurban Agriculture Platform (GUPAP) tells the story of the Al-Quarara Seed Bank, founded by Hanadi Muhanna and her family to safeguard 33 varieties of indigenous ‘Baladi’ seeds, specially selected for their disease resistance and drought resilience, from extinction. Prior to the war, the seed bank lent seeds to some 250 families, who returned them after their own harvests.
After the original seed bank was destroyed in October 2023 and the family displaced to Deir Al-Balah, they partnered with a landowner to cultivate plants to restart the seed bank. While the landowner provided the land and water, the family provided the seeds, fertilizers, and – with the help of 10 workers – labour.
While storage is challenging during the war – seeds are kept mainly in barrels and plastic containers – the seed bank is currently lending seeds to 78 farmers, enabling them to grow food to stave off food insecurity. GUPAP has also purchased seeds and distributed them to women entrepreneurs, and is establishing networking with seed banks in Hebron and Egypt.
