FONSA

Friends of Nablus and Surrounding Areas
جمعية اصدقاء نابلس وما حولها ״فونسا״

Planting Olive Trees

The people of villages around Nablus stand to lose their lands if they are not farmed. FONSA is part of a project which is planting 10,000 trees in villages around Nablus in the Palestinian West Bank

The trees are planted in vulnerable areas where they are much needed by the villagers who warmly appreciate this help. Many of their existing trees and crops have been wilfully destroyed. Land is being taken for settlements roads, separation barrier and military zones. Olive and fruit trees are the traditional livelihood of this area.

Many families rely heavily on the harvest of olives and fruit but lack the money to increase their yield. Planting your new trees will provide them with a long-term livelihood and demonstrate support for their futures.

Olive trees 2023

It’s time to plant another 400 trees so we have sent the money to Nablus and agreed to plant in these villages which were recommended by our advisers in Nablus:
  • Talfeet
  • Beit Dajan
  • Asira al Qibliya

We have to plant them before the end of March because it then becomes too dry for them to survive without substantial irrigation.

Olive trees 2022

For 2022 we ran a campaign to plant over 1,200 olive trees in and around Nablus. This was a great success with over 1,200 olive trees funded.  Over 800 have already been planted with more to follow during the wet season.

This was a joint campaign with the Dundee-Nablus Twinning Association (DNTA) who we thank for their help and substantial contributions.

There was considerable support and assistance from the members of the Britain Palestine Friendship and Twinning Network (BPFTN).  They co-ordinated a Palestine-wide campaign so olive trees were planted in villages beyond Nablus.

Olive trees 2021

In January 2021 we planted 150 olive trees in the village of Madjal Bani Fadel, followed by another 150 olive trees in Beit Dajan.

Olive trees 2020

In February 2020 we planted 300 olive trees in the villages of Huwara and Beita.

Olive trees 2019

In February 2019 we planted 300 olive trees in the villages of Qusra and Al Lubban.

In Qusra, a recent attack by settlers damaged a significant number of trees. So we were pleased to be able to help by offering new saplings.

Which trees?

We have offered fruit trees (almond, orange, etc.) but farmers overwhelmingly prefer olive trees so we only seek donations for olive trees.

Donating Trees

To buy the olive trees and plant them costs £5 each.

You can help by donating olive trees:

 

If you prefer to pay by cheque or bank transfer please fill in our donations form which you can send to us.  This enables you to claim Gift Aid on your donation (if you are eligible).

Any questions please email us at: info@fonsa.org.uk.

Progress

Thanks to so many generous donations we have planted over 5,000 olive trees in over 20 villages.

These include: Yanoun, Khirbet Tana, Khirbet Twayel, Burin, Qusin, Deir Sharaf, Smeet, Deir El Hatab, Azmout, Burqa, Assira Al Qbliya, Madama, Iraq Burin, Awarta, Urif, Yatma, As Sawiya, and Al Lubban.