EP. 38: Vivien Sansour on Palestinian Seeds, Longing, and Love

Vivien Sansour is an artist, storyteller, researcher and conservationist.She uses image, sketch, film, soil, seeds, and plants to enliven old cultural tales in contemporary presentations and to advocate for the protection of biodiversity as a cultural and political act. Vivien works with a global network of farmers and seed advocates to promote seed conservation and agrobiodiversity. As part of this effort, she founded the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, with the goals of finding and reintroducing threatened crop varieties and to collect stories to assert the ownership of seeds by communities.

This episode features a conversation between Vivien and Owen in East Rock Park in New Haven, Connecticut from dusk to darkness amongst deer and woodpeckers, with mariyamiya tea and einkorn cake, and about grief and doing good things in the world with seeds.

SEED STORIES:

Qarn al-Ghazal

Khobaizeh fruits / Mary's Cake

Bamyeh (Palestinian Okra)

Filfil Gazawi (Gazan Peppers)

Olives

Jarjir (Arugula)

Molokhia

Wild Asparagus

Figs