Next month (November 2025), I’ll be joining a small interfaith volunteer group traveling to Wadi Foquin, a farming village in the West Bank, to help families during the olive harvest. Wadi Foquin lies in the Bethlehem District and covers roughly 700 acres, supporting a population of about 1,300 people.

The olive harvest is the heart of the local economy — it’s when families earn their primary annual income or “paycheck.” In recent years, many farmers have faced disruptions accessing their trees and orchards. Harvest time has become unpredictable and stressful. In addition roads have become more restricted and villages are increasingly isolated from one another and from markets. Across the West Bank, tens of thousands of acres of olive groves face another year of harvest disruptions.

Our group, organized through Friends of Wadi Foquin (https://www.friendsofwadifoquin.com/), will spend time working alongside farmers — offering a supportive presence and helping ensure the olives are picked and make it to market on time. It’s a small but tangible way to stand with families who depend on the harvest for their livelihoods.

I’ve already committed to covering most of the cost myself. I’m raising a portion of the funds to help offset travel and lodging expenses so I can join the team and contribute fully. As so many of you know, I spent my career working in agricultural development globally. With the elimination of USAID (US Agency for International Development), my professional life mostly ground to a halt. But this is a practical way that I can continue to contribute to our global farmer neighbors. As I have been often quoted as saying 'Farmers are farmers are farmers . . . more in common than differences.'

i will also be taking gifts for the community children and cash to support the purchase of olive harvesting tools.

If you’d like to support, share, or learn more about the work being done in Wadi Foquin, your help — in any form — means a great deal. Every bit helps sustain this tradition of care for the land and community.

When I return, I’d be glad to share more about what I learn and witness. If your group, library, faith community, or school would like to host a conversation, please reach out. I can visit in person if you’re in California, Oregon, or Washington. Please get on my calendar now!

Thank you for standing with me — and with the farmers of Wadi Foquin — in this season of harvest and solidarity.