This piece is based on wild thyme, a main ingredient in Za’Atar. Za’atar is a Palestinian and Lebanese
culinary and medicinal seasoning blend. Native to the Levant, it has been used for thousands of years.
Wild thyme has been harvested by these people for generations, and Israel has recently put a ban on the
harvest of this plant. In Lebanon, the plant is referred to as “herb of resistance” for how, even when it’s

over-harvested it still comes back. This has become a metaphor for their people in their culture. This
harvesting restriction brings up the idea of the Preservation Paradox, which is guiding the efforts of
preservation of the people who have had a relationship with a plant for thousands of years, or the
colonizers.