what do maps do ?
olives & sheep was born from the understanding that maps have the power to create reality. Our living map is a new research tool that places geographical data on the surface– not buried in archives, as a radical cartography that reveals what mainstream maps intentionally conceal.
We are a land-based portal to ancestral knowledge utilizing the latest map and data technology to foreground first hand accounts of what is happening now in Historic Palestine. Our trusted partners on the ground are Palestinian, as well as international activists and researchers who are helping to grow a liberated Palestine in solidarity and harmony with humans and non-humans who have been thriving here, symbiotically for eons. We share a commitment to building sustainable futures for all of us– especially those with deep roots in the land.
Map of Jerusalem (Grassroots Al-Quds)
Bedouin Communities Under Threat in the Naqab (Bimkom)
The Settlement in Area H2, Hebron (Breaking the Silence)
West Bank Access Restrictions, May 2023 (OCHA)
Forensic Architecture, Gaza data map
olives&sheep, first map iteration
Palestine Open Maps
immediate intentions for the olives&sheep map platform:
–charting areas where unarmed civilian presence is needed now; connecting volunteers with NGOs on the ground
–making contemporary documentation more accessible in real time via the map platform
–combating cultural erasure by putting Palestinian agriculture, life and joy firmly on a non-zionist, comprehensive map
–supporting and protecting food (and water) sovereignty
–highlighting economic opportunities: Palestinian-owned and led small businesses and tools for emancipatory tourism
–revealing where the occupation harms plants and animals, towards raising global awareness of how the occupation harms the climate and land of Palestine
–amplifying organizations doing life saving and affirming work in Palestine now by putting them on the map
please note: we admire the maps above, and the groups below, and we hope to link to these datasets on our map, with permission and in coordination with the owners of these maps who we value so much and see as potential partners
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https://www.grassrootsalquds.net/map
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https://www.btselem.org/map
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https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bbfbf46fb07144a68b1f62280e967a98?mc_cid=42c5df17c7&mc_eid=UNIQID
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https://www.palquest.org/en/places
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http://maps.keremnavot.org/herding/?lang=en
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https://today.visualizingpalestine.org/
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https://palestinewrites.org/place-of-many-beginnings.php?blm_aid=6956033
along with Visualizing Palestine!
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https://palopenmaps.org/en
What would you like to see on a new cartography of Historic Palestine with the future in mind?
PHOTO BY OREN ZIV, ACTIVESTILLS, 2013.
KHIRBET JENBAH, MAASAFER YATTA