77 Years Since the Nakba: What It Means to Remember Through Craft

77 years ago, families locked their doors with no idea they would never return.
They took their house keys, a few belongings, and the memories of a life interrupted. The Nakba — “the catastrophe” — was not just the loss of land. It was the loss of rhythm. The break in bread baking. The silence where laughter once lived.

At The Olive Tree, we believe remembrance is not just a day or a date.
It’s a practice. A thread. A choice.

We Remember Through What We Make

In our world, memory isn’t written in books — it’s woven, fired, and stitched.

A kufiyya tells the story of a homeland that cannot be erased.
A bowl painted by hand carries the same warmth once found in a family kitchen.
A poncho embroidered in tatreez holds centuries of beauty and symbolism.
These are not just products. They are living records.

The Key is More Than a Key

For many families, a single key is all they carried — not just to a door, but to an identity.
The photo you see above says everything. A young girl holding her family’s key, passed down like an heirloom, like a promise.
She carries what her grandparents carried.
And what we carry — through every piece we share — is the weight and the hope of return.

77 Years Isn’t the End of the Story

It’s 77 years of holding on.
77 years of teaching the next generation to never forget.
77 years of creating beauty in defiance of erasure.

We remember by keeping the culture alive.
By choosing art over absence.
By making space for our story in places that tried to silence it.

This is How We Carry Memory Forward

With every order, we donate to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund — because healing and future must walk hand in hand.
But our mission is more than that. It’s about continuity.

When you wear our kufiyyas, when you gift a handpainted mug, when you share our story —
you are remembering with us.
And that act alone… is resistance.

Thank you for remembering. For choosing culture. For carrying the story forward.

🕊️ Wear it. Share it. Keep it alive.
#Nakba77 #PalestinianMemory #TheOliveTree