About this project

The last thing people associate with Gaza is its food. Most often, Gaza conjures up images of war and destruction: razed homes and fields, bombed out buildings, and masked gunmen. But Gaza has a rich local cuisine and its own proud agricultural and culinary history. We are preparing a book called "The Gaza Kitchen" which will bring together recipes from all over the Gaza region. But it is not only a cookbook. A lot of other things happen in the kitchen as well: conversations, family histories, the daily drama of surviving and creating spaces for pleasure in an embattled place. In the book, several women from Gaza - our protagonists - will tell their personal and family stories, "kitchen talk," as they show us how to prepare traditional cuisine.

This book represents a totally original approach to documenting the situation of Gaza and of the Palestinian people, using food, cooking, marketplaces and farms to show life beyond the headlines in this little corner of the world. Gaza isn't just a geopolitical problem, it is also a place where 1.5 million people make their homes and try to find the joys and satisfactions of daily life, despite everything.

Looking at how the food system works also gives us a privileged insight into the workings of the economy under siege, the role of humanitarian aid, and the impact of the situation on farming and sustainability.

In short: a book about a little known food tradition, about womens lives and about human dignity. A key to understanding the political through the very personal.