INTRODUCING AL-ARD
SERVING PALESTINIAN FARMERS
At Al-Ard our focus is on our land and people. We Palestinians originate from the land we live on, we inherited it, and now we have to take care of it. That’s why our name is Al-Ard, meaning ‘The Land’. And that’s why our work coherently translates into supporting farming. We strive to best serve the diversity and beauty of the land of its welcoming, dignified, caring and creative people.
We adopt and apply a human rights-based approach in the design and implementation of our projects, which range from agricultural land improvement and water interventions, to rural women’s livelihood promotion, empowerment of youth and other agricultural development projects based on an agroecological vision.
Our humanitarian approach ultimately aims at providing a safe and dignified life in which justice prevails, and where human beings are prioritized over everything else. Our principles are to side with the poor and vulnerable small farmers and producers, fully eliminating any religious, political or tribal considerations, and making every possible effort to attain gender equality and equal opportunities.
In parallel Al-Ard dedicates large efforts to influence public policies that can affect poor and marginalized communities. This goes into prioritizing, at a national and international level, the issue of access to food security for all people. We are convinced that the sovereignty over resources, foremost the sovereignty over food, is the gateway to eliminate poverty and its root causes.
Al-Ard is a Palestinian civil society organization engaged in strengthening and empowering Palestinian farmers to acquire the capacity of accessing their natural resources and basic rights.
We focus on the rights of Palestinians to self-determination and a safe and decent life on their Palestinian lands, that have been recognized as occupied territory. These rights are stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which are non-negotiable, fundamental pillars of international law.
VISION AND MISSION
ELIMINATING POVERTY IS POSSIBLE
OUR MISSION
Building solutions that ultimately lead to eliminating poverty and treating its causes, through improving our communities’ steadfastness, raising the voice of our communities, enabling marginalized and disadvantaged groups, and the enhancement of sovereignty over food and resources as a fundamental right.
OUR VISION
Driven by the idea that eliminating poverty is possible, we aspire to attain a Palestinian society devoid of poverty and hunger, in which the people can access their food sources and other resources in a safe manner that preserves their dignity.
COMMITTED TO OUR VALUES
THE WORLD WE BELIEVE IN AND STRIVE FOR
Transparency and openness
Al-Ard is committed to fully abide by transparency and openness in all aspects of its work. We consider these values as the very basis of our operations and interactions with our target groups and (inter)national partners.
Equality and equal opportunities
Al-Ard is adhered to the fact that the development of a society without enjoying equality among all of its members (regardless of gender, colour, race, religion, clan, or other forms of discrimination and oppression) is impossible. No society can advance towards any of its goals or make a reality of the dreams of its children while practising any of these treats.
Social justice
Al-Ard believes in and strives for a just society in which all its members and components are nutritionally and economically secure, in which everyone has access to the necessary resources, is able to fully participate in every detail of society, and lead a meaningful and rewarding life. Injustice must be dealt with by addressing its root causes. Poverty, racism, discrimination based on sex, religion, or political affiliation, and other forms of oppression and structural inequality are all elements that play into the creation of disproportionate barriers to communities’ access to food and land.
Adaptation
The ability to adapt socially, environmentally and economically is an important element in the advancement of the development model. The specific Palestinian context means that the pace of changes surrounding the work environment is high and frequent. Therefore, working bodies in this society must have a great ability to adapt to changing circumstances. A main applicable example for this is the required adaptation to climate change that is sweeping our world, whereas in the Palestinian context the Israeli occupation forces us to adopt to draconian, often adhoc demands.
Global partnership
We trust that partnerships in all their forms, on the local and international scale, are a mature path and a vital requirement for the exchange of experiences and knowledge between peoples. These partnerships also contribute significantly to combating poverty and its effects. Respectable and valued international presence and partnerships are essential to the lobbying and advocating for the rights of people under occupation, especially farmers.
