Olive Harvest in Financial Times
Zaytoun on December 25th, 2008Fiona Dunlop recently visited Palestine as part of the Zaytoun harvest trip. Below is a piece she wrote for the Financial Times about her experience.
Pressed into service
By Fiona Dunlop
Published: December 20 2008
In the shade of gnarled olive trees, their leaves stirred by a gentle breeze, we look out over endless Biblical hills of chalky limestone. As the muezzin’s call reverberates across the valley, Mashour, a Palestinian farmer, joins us and we tuck into a glorious picnic of meze as intensely flavoured as any I have tasted.
The fresh ingredients, simply combined, have produced a concentrated tomato dish laced with grassy olive oil, velvety foul (fava bean stew) with even more swirls of oil, mutabal (smoky aubergine, garlic and tahini purée) seasoned with lemon juice and oil, creamy labneh (yoghurt cheese), and, of course, hummus - all mopped up with flat bread that we saw baked just hours earlier by the farmer’s wife. The extra virgin oil, barely a week old, is exquisite, cold-pressed from olives that have been cultivated in the surrounding hills for thousands of years. Without that oil, Palestinian food would fade away.
Above us the layered branches are so thick with olives that they resemble huge bunches of plump grapes. This has been a bumper year.
Stripping them by hand is satisfying, leaving hands dirty but unscratched and surprisingly smooth. No wonder the Myceneans used olive oil as a base for ointment.
The farmer is grateful for the help as, with only a few weeks to harvest, the pressure is on. Throughout Palestine, picking is manual and, therefore, labour-intensive though this supposedly produces better quality oil than when trees are mechanically shaken, as in most of Europe. One of Mashour’s workers is agile Abu Hassan who, at 54, is as prolific as a father (he has 23 children) as he is at picking olives.
Clambering round the top branches like a goat, he descends only to pray, drink tea or swap trees. Mashour’s day starts at dawn when he climbs the terraced hillside with his donkey and ends late at night when a friend drives him and his sacks of olives to the nearby press.
One thing is for sure, I discover, these olives will not be going to Nablus, the nearest Palestinian town and most logical marketplace. On a trip there, I learn that getting truckloads of olives through the checkpoint is an insurmountable problem. No profit can compensate for the long hours of waiting, unloading, being searched and reloading. I stop off at the Toukan soap factory, a surviving landmark of the town’s 19th-century heyday, to find out where they source their olive oil. “Italy,” replies the manager. “It’s cheaper and I can get large quantities without any problem.”
As far back as the 14th century, Nablus’s oil and carob paste were lyrically praised by Ibn Battuta, seven centuries before Israel named Nablus the capital of terrorism and bombed it heavily in 2002. It is a chilling feeling to explore a street market where the stone walls are plastered with posters of so-called martyrs clutching AK-47s.
Yet this is the case inside the peeling medina. Slipping through an archway into a shadowy alleyway, I instantly smell za’atar, a zesty Palestinian seasoning of wild herbs and sesame seeds, as well as that timeless Middle Eastern aroma of sweet tobacco. Deep crimson pomegranates are plentiful but not squeezed as in Ramallah or East Jerusalem. Instead the street tipple of choice served by bell-ringing vendors turns out to be nauseatingly sweet. Discreetly I spit it out - not quite the delicious liquorice and carob juices that I have read about.
Nablus’s narrow lanes hum with gastro-activity, foul and falafel-makers, bakers, tea-stands and of course narguileh cafés where Biblical-looking old gents in white keffiye puff, chat and drink tea for hours. I join them for a refreshing sage tea and we discuss the origins of local streetfood. Foul ? Egypt, I suggest. No no, Palestine, they reply. Falafel ? Lebanon, I say tentatively. No, they laugh, wrong again - it’s Palestine. Hummus ? No conclusion is reached about this regional obsession. Middle Eastern food is as complex as its politics, and the borders just as disputed.
Armed with the address for the best kunafeh (cheesecake) in town, I leave my new friends. Past a mosque and an Ottoman bell-tower I find a lone man working in an open-sided, tiled kitchen beside a mountain of metal trays. This is kunafeh central, producing the top Al-Aqsa brand.
Unhurriedly, the cook shifts from one huge platter to another, smearing them with ghee, then a thick layer of goat’s cheese, which bubbles gently over a burner before receiving a final topping of semolina and almonds. Once baked golden-brown, the cheesecake is drizzled in syrup.
Across the side-alley, a steady flow of customers enters the café to devour a hot slice at table or have a box filled to take away. I at last indulge in this perfect textural mix, comfortingly sweet, highly addictive.
Back in the market, my harvester’s heart leaps as I spot sacks of firm, fresh olives, pale green, pink and deep purple, backed up by recycled plastic bottles of that familiar liquid gold. But considering the thousands of trees in the rolling white hills around Nablus, the quantity on sale is laughable, probably the production of one extended family.
There are an estimated 10m trees in Palestine and about 100,000 families depend on them, yet vast quantities of oil remain unsold due to the occupiers’ restrictions. The contradictions mount up but the oil, when you can get it, is sublime.
Website here
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/26975b8c-cbcd-11dd-ba02-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
December 2008 Newsletter
Zaytoun on December 3rd, 2008Dear Zaytoun customers and supporters,
Zaytoun would like to wish all our distributors, customers and supporters a very Merry Christmas and Happy Eid and we’d like to thank you for all your hard work and support over the year.
December sale offer on organic oil and dates
Special offer for December:
Organic Olive Oil: 50% off (this applies to Sindyanna and PARC organic oil)
Dates: 40% off
The sale is on stock BBE December 2008 and only applies to orders over £550.
Product Feature: Zaytoun Cous cous
Hand-made… Award-winning… Women’s income generating… Totally Palestinian Cous cous…
Zaytoun’s cous cous (maftoul in Arabic) is a delicious large grain, hand-rolled product. To read more about why Zaytoun’s cous cous in now ‘Totally Palestinian’ click here: www.zaytoun.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/cous-cous2.pdf
If like many of us in-experienced cooks you have yet to make the most of your cous cous in the kitchen, check out a recent piece by Nigel Slater in The Observer, where he gets the tastebuds going: “…imagine couscous but juicy and more interesting in the mouth. Little pearls of starch that soak up flavours, such as garlic and olive oil. It isn’t the easiest ingredient to get your hands on at present…but can be found in Middle Eastern grocers, usually next to traditional couscous.” Nigel goes on to provide what looks to be a delicious recipe for ‘Mograbiah’ known as ‘pearl couscous’ – see: www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/sep/07/foodanddrink
Fairtrade Certification and Fairtrade Fortnight
The Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) is currently in Palestine conducting a second round of inspections for some farmer cooperatives and the first round for others. We will bring you an update on the certification process in the next newsletter. The Palestinian olive oil is still set to be the first olive oil which will be FLO certified. 2009 will see the launch of Palestine as a country and the olive oil and olives as products under the FLO certification and will really boost the market access for Palestinian farmers.
Zaytoun is planning to host a couple of producers from Palestine for Fairtrade Fortnight, 23rd February – 8th March 2009. If you would like to have a meeting in your local area please do get in touch.
Product Update: Olives
Zaytoun are pleased to report that one of our newer products, the green and black olives, have been very popular with customers and we have now sold out. We are expecting out next order in late February.
Featured sellers - Essential Wholefoods
Essential have been a long-term customer of ours, and have even sent a football team out to Palestine! They are a great wholefood wholesalers - for further info about the areas they distribute please see our sellers page.
Although they don’t yet carry our full range, they are planning to relaunch Zaytoun products in their spring catalogue. Until then they do hold stocks of green and black olives for which Zaytoun is now out of stock in our own warehouse, as well as 500ml olive oil and some stocks of Canaan-labelled almonds, couscous, dates and tahini. Their minimum order for delivery is between £150 and £250, depending on location. To open an account and order from them, call 0117 943 0812 or see www.essential-trading.co.uk.
Traidcraft
Just to let customers know Traidcraft are selling mixed cases of black and green olives and sundried tomatoes available here www.traidcraftshop.co.uk/p-9010-zaytoun-olives-and-sundried-tomato-mixed-case-6.aspx
as well as organic olive oil 500ml available here www.traidcraftshop.co.uk/p-8125-zaytoun-fair-trade-olive-oil-6×500ml.aspx
New distributors and shops
Many thanks to all our distributors who are vital contributors to Zaytoun’s success. Please see details of some of our new distributors and shops below and for a full list of distributors in the UK please see our website www.zaytoun.org/sellers
Claudine McCreadie, Kew TW9 3BT dandcmcc@googlemail.com
Jenny Wistreich, Seaford BN251TH jenwist@mac.com
Windmill Hill Shop, Bristol BS3 4EA 0117 963 3233
My Time Shop, Dartington, Devon TQ9 6TQ 01803 847510
Ian Cavell, Norwich ian_cavell@yahoo.co.uk
Visits to Palestine
Zaytoun are pleased to have completed two successful trips to Palestine in October and November. October saw our harvest team assisting farmers as they do every year, in the West Bank olive groves and in November Zaytoun distributors and supporters toured the West Bank to understand more about the situation on the ground and what they can do to make a difference.
A selection of photos from our 2008 harvest team who were in villages in the Nablus and Salfit districts this year, can be found at www.simulacrum.org.uk/plogger
For more info see our journal page which also includes:
On Radio 4’s Excess Baggage on 22 November, Raja Shehadeh was interviewed about his book Palestinian Walks. See below to download an MP3 of this interview www.simulacrum.org.uk/Excess Baggage 2008-11-22 Raja Shehadeh - Palestinian Walks.mp3
Upcoming Events
Zaytoun is planning to have a presence at many events this December, including those listed below.
If you are planning a stall to sell Zaytoun produce at an upcoming event be sure to email us on contact@zaytoun.org so we can include the event in our newsletter.
Upcoming events are:
The 2008 Fair Trade Fair
Saturday & Sunday 13th & 14th December 2008
12 noon to 6pm
Central Hall Westminster, Parliament Square, London SW1
The Ethical Fayre at Canning House
Thursday 18th December 2008
4pm to 8:30pm
2 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PJ
Latest products and prices
For our latest products and prices see www.zaytoun.org/products
Thanks for your ongoing support,
ZAYTOUN CIC - fairly traded produce from Palestine
Gaza Olive Harvest Suffers Under The Blockade
Zaytoun on December 2nd, 2008From Reliefweb - 27 November 2008
Oxfam’s Mohammed Ali Abu Najela reports on the impact of Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip on the territory’s olive oil industry.
The agricultural sector in Gaza has been severely affected by the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. Since the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada in 2000, 112,000 olive trees have been destroyed in the Gaza Strip by the conflict and Israeli military incursions. Also, one third of agricultural land - thousands of dunums (1 dunum=.25 acre) along the border with Israel - has been inaccessible to Palestinian farmers since Israeli settlements were dismantled in 2005. Israel then carved out a security zone that included valuable Gazan farming land. Farmers have been killed and injured trying to access and cultivate these lands.
To read the rest of this article click here.
Olive Tree Planting Programme - February 2009
Zaytoun on December 1st, 2008A program for Civil International Solidarity with Palestinians
Invitation to the Olive Tree Planting Programme 7th - 16th February, 2009
The JAI and the Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) are glad to invite you for the 2nd Olive Planting Programme taking place in February 2009.
Besides olive planting, the program will feature introductory presentations about the current situation in Palestine and the effects of the Apartheid Wall, tours in the old city of Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, in addition to cultural events and social gatherings.
Proposed schedule
· Saturday, Feb 7, Day 1: Arrival to the airport and travel to Bethlehem to meet representatives from the organizing institutions for an overview and discussion of the program. Dinner and free time.
· Sunday, Feb 8, Day 2: Visiting Bethlehem. An afternoon of site-seeing and an introduction to the town. Watching Documentary about the situation in Palestine.
· Monday, Feb 9, Day 3: Half day planting trees at a selected field followed by lunch. Visiting Duheisha refugee camp. Evening with BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugees’ Rights. Dinner and free time.
· Tuesday, Feb 10, Day 4: Half day planting trees at a selected field followed by lunch. Meeting with the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ) for a presentation on the Israeli Apartheid Wall and land expropriation by Israeli authorities. Dinner and free time.
· Wednesday, Feb 11, Day 5: Visiting YMCA headquarters in Jerusalem, A tour in the old city of Jerusalem to visit the main sites in the city. Lunch. In the afternoon we will join The Israeli Committee Against House Demolition ICAHD for a settlement tour around Jerusalem. Dinner and free time. (suggested family stay)
· Thursday, Feb 12, Day 6: Half day planting trees at a selected field followed by lunch. A tour in the old city of Hebron to visit the Ibrahimi Mosque, es-souq (the market), and to see the Israeli division of Hebron and the Israeli settlers who occupy the center of the city. Followed by a meeting with an organization based in Hebron. Dinner and free time (suggested family stay)
· Friday, Feb 13, Day 7: Visit to the city of Ramallah. A meeting with Defense for Children International DCI, Al-Dameer and a Palestinian political representative. Dinner and free time.
· Saturday, Feb 14, Day 8: Half day planting trees at a selected field followed by lunch. Meeting with representatives from the Joint Advocacy Initiative of the East Jerusalem YMCA and YWCA of Palestine Dinner and free time.
· Sunday, Feb 15, Day 9: Half day planting trees at a selected field followed by lunch. Evaluation meeting followed by a farewell dinner at a local restaurant with staff members and volunteers. Overnight in Bethlehem.
· Monday, Feb 16, Day 10: Departure
More Information:
· The cost of the 10 days program including accommodation, meals, and local transportation is 620$.
· A tour guide will be present with the group at all times for facilitation purposes.
· Travel from and to the airport is not included in the cost but can be arranged for groups.
· Places are limited.
For any other information, questions, concerns, or to request a registration form, please contact:
· Jawad Musleh, Alternative Tourism Group, program coordinator, via email at: jawad@atg.ps or by phone at (+972) 2 2772151.
· Baha Hilo, the Joint Advocacy Initiative of the East Jerusalem YMCA and the YWCA of Palestine campaigns officer via email at: olivetree@jai-pal.org / bahilo@gmail.com or by phone at (+972) 2 2774540.
