Big Heart drive restores Gaza's devastated olive groves

The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) and Palestinian olive oil brand Jenin are bringing individuals and institutions together through "The Last Harvest", a humanitarian fundraising campaign with the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) serving as its implementing partner. Through contributions towards replanting olive trees in Gaza, the initiative seeks to help Palestinian farmers restore their agricultural livelihoods and preserve a tradition that has sustained families for generations.

Coinciding with the annual olive harvest season, the campaign gives the public several ways to contribute. Direct donations start at Dhs35 through TBHF's dedicated platform, while an official YallaGive appeal has a target of Dhs350,000. Supporters can also bid on a unique glass artwork containing olive oil brought from Gaza, with bids starting at Dhs25,000.

As the campaign's official fundraising partner, TBHF will collect and administer donations and auction proceeds, with funds directed to APN to support agricultural recovery efforts in Gaza.

02. Mariam Al Hammadi

The campaign comes amid extensive destruction of Gaza's agricultural sector, with olive cultivation among the hardest hit. According to the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN), approximately 90% of Gaza's olive trees have been destroyed, while olive production is estimated to have fallen from 55,000 tonnes in 2022 to just 1,000 tonnes in 2025.

The scale of the damage is further reflected in an August 2026 assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT), which found that only 3% of Gaza's cropland remained both accessible and undamaged as of 24 June 2026. Before October 2023, agriculture supported the livelihoods of more than 560,000 people in Gaza.

Beyond the loss of food production and income, the destruction of olive groves threatens an agricultural heritage that Palestinian families have cultivated and passed down through generations.

'We want Palestinian children to inherit olive groves'

Mariam Al Hammadi, Advisory Board Member of The Big Heart Foundation, said: "When an olive tree is destroyed, a Palestinian farming family loses far more than a source of income. They lose years of work, a source of food and something they had hoped to pass on to their children. Through 'The Last Harvest', we want to help farmers rebuild what has been lost and give them the resources to cultivate their land again. Everyone can contribute, whether by helping plant a single tree or supporting the restoration of entire groves. We want Palestinian children to inherit olive groves, not only memories of the trees that once stood there."

Palestinian farmers tend their crops, prepare seedlings and cultivate their land, reflecting their continued efforts to sustain agricultural livelihoods and preserve the olive-growing traditions.

Through TBHF's dedicated campaign platform, individuals and institutions can contribute Dhs35 to help plant one olive tree, Dhs350 for ten trees, Dhs700 for twenty trees or Dhs1,400 for forty trees, with the flexibility to select another amount. No administrative fees are deducted from donations made through TBHF's direct-donation platform.

To encourage wider participation, TBHF also has an official fundraising appeal on YallaGive, with a target of Dhs350,000, equivalent to the campaign's stated cost of planting 10,000 olive trees. The platform enables supporters to organise fundraising initiatives and invite families, friends, colleagues and communities to contribute towards Gaza's agricultural recovery.

Funds raised through "The Last Harvest" will support the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN), the campaign's implementing partner, including through its "Revive Gaza's Farmland" programme, which works to rehabilitate agricultural production, provide farmers with essential resources and restore farming capacity in Palestine.

The campaign will contribute to the replanting of olive trees and the restoration of farming livelihoods, helping Palestinian farmers regain the means to work their land. Individuals, families and institutions can support the campaign through www.tbhf.ae/the-last-harvest.

Gaza Olive Oil Vessel

At the centre of the campaign is "The Gaza Olive Oil Vessel", containing a rare quantity of olive oil brought from Deir Al Balah in Gaza after an uncertain journey. Rather than being consumed, the oil has been preserved in an artwork designed by Palestinian artist Lameice Abu Aker and hand-blown by artisans in Jaba' in the West Bank.

Tala Hammash, Co-founder of Jenin

Inspired by traditional Palestinian olive oil dispensers, the artwork features a seed-shaped glass chamber containing the oil, resting on a base of burnt olive wood, symbolising both destruction and the possibility of new growth.

The artwork is being offered through an online auction organised by Jenin, with a starting bid of Dhs25,000, equivalent to the campaign's stated cost of planting approximately 714 olive trees. The auction closes on 11 November 2026 at noon UAE time and is open to UAE residents aged 18 and above.

The entire winning bid will be channelled through TBHF to APN to support olive tree replanting in Gaza.

Tala Hammash, Co-founder of Jenin, said: "For generations, the olive harvest has brought Palestinian families together, with grandparents, parents and children sharing the work and traditions of caring for the land. Today, the destruction of olive groves threatens these traditions and the livelihoods of the families who depend on them. When this small quantity of olive oil made its way out of Gaza, we wanted it to serve a greater purpose. By preserving it in a piece of art created by Palestinian artisans, we are giving something irreplaceable the opportunity to help restore what has been lost. The oil inside this artwork will never be consumed, but it can help new trees grow and make future harvests possible."

Proceeds from Jenin's limited-edition "The Fallaheen Reserve" olive oil collection will also be channelled through TBHF to APN to support Palestinian farmers and olive tree replanting efforts.

Voices of the Palestinian olive harvest

Alongside its fundraising activities, "The Last Harvest" highlights the voices of Palestinian olive farmers in the West Bank, whose families have cultivated olive trees for generations. Their recorded stories are available on the campaign website at www.tbhf.ae/the-last-harvest.

The stories feature farmers from Jenin and Hebron in the West Bank, offering insight into the importance of olive cultivation to their communities and the challenges of continuing their work.

These accounts celebrate the people who cultivate and care for the land, bringing the traditions and lived experiences of the Palestinian olive harvest to a wider audience while the campaign raises support for farmers in Gaza.