Palestine Heirloom Seed Library (PHSL) is about more than just seed conservation—we are custodians of heritage, culture, and biodiversity. Rooted deeply in Palestinian traditions, our mission is to preserve and protect indigenous seed varieties passed down through generations. We believe in empowering communities, nurturing resilience, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices that honor the land and its history.
Our team consists of dedicated individuals from passionate farmers to visionary seed guardians who collectively ensure that each seed survives to tell its story of endurance and hope. Together, we cultivate not only seeds but also connections, learnings, and a brighter future for generations to come.
Vivien Sansour is the Founder and Executive Director of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. As an artist, researcher, and writer, she uses installations, images, sketches, film, soil, seeds, and plants to enliven old cultural tales in contemporary presentations and to advocate for seed conservation and the protection of agrobiodiversity as a cultural/political act.
Vivien founded the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library in 2014, where she works with farmers in Palestine and around the world. As an extension of this project she created The Traveling Kitchen, a social engagement project aimed at bringing to the forefront conversations about climate crisis, food politics, and the imagining of new worlds.
Melina Roise is the Program Coordinator for the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. Melina currently manages the growing seed library in the United States and the growing network of Seed Protector Project farmers, along with managing production for the Traveling Kitchen and other PHSL events. Coming to PHSL via the Bard Center for Indigenous Studies, Melina has a background in cultural production, environmental and anticolonial education, and small-scale organic agriculture, particularly flowers, vegetables, and of course seeds!
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Nate Kleinman is a Special Advisor to the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library leadership team, in addition to being co-director of Experimental Farm Network and a founding member of Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance.
Nate helps PHSL with seed production, biodiversity conservation, writing, fundraising, public engagement, and the Seed Protectors Project, including recruiting growers and accessing Palestinian seeds from government seed banks and other sources.
Nicole Vascimini is the assistant for the Seed Protectors Project for the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. Nicole has a background in food and agriculture with a focus in food equity and has been farming in the Hudson Valley for the past 8 years. She is an artist, an avid cook, a steward of land and seeds and believes deeply in food and seed saving as an act of love, preservation, and resistance.
While our work began in Palestine and — we pray — will always be deeply rooted there, the daily realities of occupation, oppression, and violence have forced us to expand our work far beyond the terraces, springs, and olive groves of our beloved Palestine. Thankfully, we are in community with many wonderful people and communities around the world whose love and solidarity help ensure the long-term survival of our seeds.
PHSL is an interactive art and agriculture project that also aims to start conversations, exchange knowledge, and share the stories of food and farming that have been buried away, waiting to sprout like seeds.
