Tiny Designs: the Olive

The Olive: our fruit that grows on a tree channeling decades of resilience on Palestinian soil. 

The Olive Tree: our tree that winds into itself to find organic stability and structure, rooting into the earth to survive for decades, centuries, even millennia. 

Branching out while keeping their anchors rooted deep in our land, our Olives & Olive Trees forever remind us of our resilience, and the importance of honoring our history and lineage.

When families gather in the fall for their olive harvest, they take part in a tradition that goes back generations. Each family has their own stories and ancestral habits, all passed down with incredible love and care. 

Palestinians value tradition like most indigenous groups do. When you've been on your land for generations, you begin to see and feel signs of your ancestors and how they lived their lives. That visceral connection to our past gives us a perspective and drive rooted in tradition; we value our history and the gifts our land gives, and our occupiers know that.

They know our roots run deep - it's one of our biggest strengths, and one of their main targets.

No matter where our roots spread, every Palestinian in the diaspora can feel an anchoring root, deep in our being, connecting us to our homeland. We are forever in this state of fractured existence, carrying our symbols with us to help feel Palestine's power shine through regardless of where we physically are. 

Today, we feel with our siblings in Gaza who, after already surviving unimaginable conditions, are now being starved as they're continuously and repeatedly displaced. We feel with our siblings in the West Bank who protect their olive trees with all their might; our siblings who lost their olive trees to settler violence; we feel with our siblings all over Palestine who have to live under occupation while we live in the diaspora. 

And so this symbol - the Olive coming from the Olive Tree - is a tribute to our traditions, culture, strength, and survival. It is a reminder of the incredible richness and resilience that Palestinian land and culture hold. With this design, we share our Olive with you to carry wherever you go. 

Hibkom,

MeYaTa