Entangled Destiny

An @insidenatgeo project on cultural traditions tied to 3 iconic Mediterranean trees: olive, carob & stone pine by @magdaboudagher @Saracamnasio @MContrerasColl

[Entangled Destiny @EntangleDestiny]

3 trees : Stone pine, olive and carob

3 countries : Lebanon 🇱🇧 , Italy 🇮🇹 and Spain 🇪🇸

3 women : @magdaboudagher @Saracamnasio @MContrerasColl
are hitting the road 🚙 to uncover stories about the entangled destiny of people & trees in the Mediterranean

@InsideNatGeo

[EFI Mediterranean Facility @efimedfacility]

The call for applications for the #YLPMED 2025 closes in less than a month!

🔎🌲 Are you a young professional interested in sustainable #ForestManagement and forest #resilience?
Do not miss this #opportunity!

🗓️ Apply by 15 December 👉 https://t.co/6lOQ8aQVtA

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

Taking a well-earned break after years of helping young olive branches grow horizontally

Hanging weights on young olive branches helps shape the tree, promoting outward growth for better sunlight, easier harvesting, and higher fruit production.
#traditional #technique
#Olive

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

Hojiblanca, Picual, Arbequina, Manzanilla… Hundreds of olive varieties in #Spain. Beyond the names: diverse cultivation, tradition meets cutting-edge tech—a testament to human ingenuity.
Learning continues in Sevilla with @EntangleDestiny @efimedfacility.

[EFI Mediterranean Facility @efimedfacility]

#EFIMED Principal Scientist @magdaboudagher is exploring the connections between people & trees in the #Mediterranean as part of @EntangleDestiny!

Now, in Sevilla, she is diving into traditions & innovations surrounding the olive tree 🫒

Learn more⬇️
https://t.co/9OTYiCogGk

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

Olive trees serve as 'habitat trees'—alive or dead, they sustain countless organisms. 🌿🫶
I counted over 23 different species visible to the human eye on this one twisted, ancient olive tree.

@EntangleDestiny

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

The *Sant’Emiliano* olive tree—estimated to be 1,830 yo and one of the oldest in Italy—is believed to be the very tree under which St. Emiliano, Trevi’s first bishop, was martyred.

'they tied him to a young olive tree,' where he was ultimately beheaded.

https://t.co/FJUTFFbYzp

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

Spent the 1st day in #Trevi admiring hands, worn by time, rich with wisdom, and listening to words from a fading era—a bridge to a past slipping away. Cherishing these moments feels like bottling history in extremis, as the #olive groves whisper their multigenerational secrets.

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

Checked on the oldest carob trees in Sicili. Found traces of centuries-old grafting skills. Hard to define their exact age, as the trees decay from within. But every wrinkle, new shoot, and dead branch tells the intertwined story of these trees and the humans who've shaped them

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

In times of famine and scarcity, our trees sustain us—and every now and then, we return the favor.

#EntangledDestiny
#Carob
#Olive

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

Day 0: After months of preparation our @InsideNatGeo journey in Italy 🇮🇹 begins tonight!

With @Saracamnasio and @MContrerasColl, we’ll explore villages and landscapes, uncovering carob, olive, and pine stories - told by the people whose lives these trees have shaped.

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

Though kilometers apart, the same technique was used to build terraces and create land separations/demarcations.
#Catalunya #Sicilia

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

At Sicily's oldest chocolate factory, @bonajuto carob is used both as a thickener (from the seeds, known as locust bean gum) and as flour (from the pods).

A family tradition passed down through generations, adding value and connecting the product to its local roots.

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

@InsideNatGeo @efimedfacility Carob has also been used for ethanol production. One such story comes from everyday life in Pozzallo, where Antonio, now 85, began working at just 13 - with a special permit- in Giuffrida, operating an ethanol factory from carob extract.

#EntangledDestiny

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

Delicious Carob and almond pastry

You can watch them, sure… but the “real recipe” will come to you later… maybe in your dreams 😅✨

#EntangledDestiny
@InsideNatGeo @efimedfacility

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

An unexpected use for carob leaves 🫶🏻🥹
#EntangledDestiny
@Entangled_Destiny

@InsideNatGeo @efimedfacility

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

Where better to hold a carob workshop than under a carob tree?
Visitors explored carob molasses from 🇱🇧 and carob chocolate from 🇪🇸, how carob spread across the Mediterranean - local selections for different uses. So much to learn from each other!

#EntangledDestiny

[EFI Mediterranean Facility @efimedfacility]

Our principal scientist @magdaboudagher is hitting the road in Italy with @MContrerasColl & @Saracamnasio to explore the connection between people & carob, olive, & pine in the #Mediterranean!

Read about their @InsideNatGeo project @EntangleDestiny 🔎
👉 https://t.co/KvLa3G30aO

[Magda BOU DAGHER @magdaboudagher]

Sicily carobs… here we are

[Mediterranean Forest Week @medforestweek]

🌲✨ Are you a researcher, policymaker, or practitioner interested in #Mediterranean forests? 

Meet the #forest experts who will join the #8MFW in November!
➡️ https://t.co/ct6ASLxMMf 

Register now to get the chance to network with them ✍️ 
➡️ https://t.co/69YZneDaT0