Mapping Rural Jerusalem

The village as a production unit

 

A research based project

 

 

 

jib

 

 

Click on the map to explore the material collected along Riwaq's research project in rural Jerusalem in the villages of Qalndiya and Al Jib.

 

In an attempt to dismantle the center- periphery binary in understanding the relation between Jerusalem and its environs, this project looks at the Palestinian villages as centers of production rather than a spatial extension of Jerusalem city. Through this role of production, these villages created a set of spatial networks made by flows of materials, products, labor, knowledge, imaginaries and practices, redrawing a map of exchanges and reciprocities. By following threads of the peasants' stories in rural Jerusalem, the narratives of historians and the figures in historical documents, a map of hidden connections started to unfold. The oral history sessions in Al Jib and Qalandia brought to the surface the hidden lines of the old connections between Jerusalem villages, trying to overcome today's geography of isolation and disconnectivity.

 

 

* This project is integrated into the ongoing work of Riwaq in Rural Jerusalem, within the broader project “The life Jacket: the restoration and regeneration of rural Jerusalem”.