As soon as pea pods in his green field start to be fully grown and dangling Palestinian farmer Hazem Abu Amer along with his relatives sets off for Abasan al-Kabira area in southern Gaza where they embark on collecting the crops.
Abu Amer always starts the pea harvest by gently picking a handful of pods touching them with both hands savoring its taste before putting them in a bucket. This field is his source of livelihood so he is keen on making such agricultural rituals before harvesting the crops.
While everyone was engaging recently in reaping the field an elderly relative Umm Hazem was singing as always traditional hymns and songs as all others were repeating after her to get the energy to complete their hard work.
In the afternoon hours the family gathered for lunch cooked by Umm Hazem when her sons were busy collecting the pods before everyone took a tea break and then returned to work vigorously.
As part of the harvest process Hazem helped his brother Mohamed to fill special bags with the collected crops as a prelude to transporting them to the market in Abasan al-Kabira area.
Like other areas in Gaza street vendors can be noticeably found in some alleyways and along sidewalks in Khan Younis city selling vegetables but nowadays peas are largely sold and bought due to the harvest season.
Khan Younis is known for having the largest area of pea crops especially in its eastern area where plants rely on irrigation and rainfall to grow.
