Justice and Couscous
Zaytoun on February 27th, 2009Life has never been easy in Ein al-Sultan camp, Palestine’s smallest refugee camp. Nestled at the foot of the Mount of Temptation, just outside the historic city of Jericho, the camp’s population currently sits at roughly 2,000. Established in 1948, the camp once accommodated 20,000 refugees, but the vast majority were forced to flee to Jordan during the hostilities of the 1967 war. Many of those who remained once relied on employment in Israel to make ends meet, but when the brutality of the occupation was intensified during the second Palestinian intifada most people lost their jobs because of the severe movement restrictions that were imposed. Today, poor socio-economic conditions, inadequate basic infrastructure such as roads and sewers, severe water shortages, all of which are compounded by the Israeli occupation, cause tremendous hardship for the refugees, who continue to be largely dependent on food rations and various other forms of international aid.
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Zaytoun cous cous is sourced from the coop profiled in this article see our products page for more info
Zaytoun in The Church Times
Zaytoun on February 27th, 2009Fairtrade Fortnight message is: Back the smallholder
The Fairtrade Foundation is urging consumers to support its work with farmers in developing countries who have been hit hard by the global economic crisis.
It launched a report, Global Food Crisis and Fairtrade: Small farmers, big solutions?, to mark the beginning of Fairtrade Fortnight on Monday.
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Israeli Forces Open Fire on Palestinian Farmers and Internationals in Khoza’a
Zaytoun on February 27th, 2009February 24, 2009
Khoza’a, Khan Younis, Gaza
Palestinian farmers, accompanied by international Human Rights Workers (HRWs), were fired upon by Israeli forces in the village of Khoza’a, near Khan Younis, this morning. The farmers and HRWs were attempting to work on land around 300m from the ‘Green Line’.
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Palestinian Olive Oil: Fruity With Peppery, Lingering Taste
Zaytoun on February 26th, 2009Listen to Guardian interview with Nasser Abufarha, Chair of the Palestinian Fairtrade Association here
Prime Minister ‘Delighted’ As First Fairtrade Olive Oil Goes On Sale
Zaytoun on February 25th, 2009The Herald
The first olive oil to carry the Fairtrade mark, produced by Palestinian farmers, will be launched in the UK today, with the support of the Prime Minister.
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Palestinian Olive Oil Bucks UK Recession - Guardian Article
Zaytoun on February 24th, 2009• Sales expected to double this year after Gaza conflict
• Product gets Fairtrade certification for first time
In an unintended consequence of Israel’s offensive in Gaza last month, sales of Palestinian olive oil in Britain are soaring, importers have said.
The devastating conflict, in which 1,300 Palestinians were killed, has prompted a surge in demand for the product in apparent sympathy for the Palestinians. Equal Exchange, a seller of Fairtrade products, reported a threefold increase in sales of olive oil from the West Bank in January compared with a year ago.
“We have run out of one-litre bottles and we expect sales to double to 400 tonnes this year compared to 2008,” said Barry Murdoch, the sales director of Equal Exchange.
The company Zaytoun, also established to sell Palestinian olive oil in the UK, reported a fourfold rise in sales last month instead of the usual post-Christmas lull. Zaytoun, established by two Britons, Heather Masoud and Cathi Pawson, takes its name from the Arabic word for olive.
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First Fairtrade Olive Oil Gives Hope to Palestinian Farmers - Guardian Article
Zaytoun on February 24th, 2009The first Fairtrade product from Palestinian farmers is going on sale in Co-op supermarkets as olive oil from co-operatives in the West Bank are promoted for their ethical trading status.
The UK-based company behind the imports hopes foods such as dates and almonds might soon qualify for similar certification, followed later by soaps using olive oil from similar marginalised communities.
Gordon Brown said he was “delighted” by the launch, marking the start of Fairtrade Fortnight, the annual campaign urging people to buy goods with the internationally recognised mark designed to ensure producers from poorer countries get a fair price and long-term security.
At present, Palestinian producers only use about a quarter of the 2000-tonne a year EU quota for their olive oil, but campaigners hope the formal recognition and first supermarket sales for the Zaytoun product will establish a more secure market.
Brown said: “Olive oil production provides an essential part of the West Bank economy. In buying this oil, British shoppers wil be helping the farmers of Palestine to make a living.”
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Olive Oil The Lifeblood of Palestine
Zaytoun on February 21st, 2009Fair Comment - The Fairtrade Foundation Newsletter
Forty-two year old olive farmer Mahmoud Issa looks out across the 150 dunams (15 hectares) of olive groves that provide his living. As a member, he says he speaks for all the farmers in the Anin Co-operative when he describes his excitement at his co-op becoming Fairtrade certified.
The passion for his work is clear. ‘The zaytoun, the olive, means everything to us,’ he says. ‘My father and my grandfather farmed on this land, and now my children work alongside me harvesting. Our olive oil is of the highest quality because of the fertility of the land and we use traditional farming methods.’ In Palestine, the zaytoun or olive tree is revered and symbolizes many things, including family, land and hope. But it doesn’t just have spiritual significance, olive and olive oil production is a vital source of income for many farmers in the region.
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Israeli Soldiers Shoot Deaf Palestinian Farmer
Zaytoun on February 21st, 2009Dirty Tricks: Israeli Soldiers Shoot Deaf Palestinian Farmer, 4th Farmer Shot in 3 weeks
Eva Bartlett
What caused the Israeli soldiers to shoot a deaf farmer today? Was he threatening? Was it because the group of farm labourers had successfully worked quickly to harvest their day’s wages? Was the sight of retreating, unarmed, clearly non-threatening civilians too tempting to resist?
Whatever the motivation, the result is another casualty of Israeli soldiers’ malevolence: a 20 year old deaf farmer, Mohammad al-Buraim, working the land to support his family of 16, may not walk easily again. The bullet which targeted his ankle penetrated straight through and landed in the tire of the truck he’d been pushing.
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Palestinian Fishermen under Daily Assault
Zaytoun on February 18th, 2009Gazan coast becoming a ‘no-go’ zone
On Saturday 14th February, 23 year-old Rafiq abu Reala was shot by Israeli naval forces whilst fishing in Gazan territorial waters, approximately two nautical miles out from the port of Gaza city. He was in a simple fishing vessel, not much larger than a rowing boat, with a small outboard engine, known locally as a ‘hassaka’. Rafiq, his brother Rajab and another friend were following the course of a shoal of fish. A group of five more hassakas were out at the time, about a kilometre to the west of Rafiq’s boat, further out to sea. An Israeli naval gunboat approached the area and began shooting at the other hassakas, which quickly changed course and headed east, back towards shore.
Suddenly Rafiq realised the gunboat was bearing down on their hassaka. As he recounted the events of that day, Rafiq likened the predatory nature of the naval vessel to that of a wolf. It circled their fishing boat and began shooting heavy ammunition in their direction. The three terrified fishermen threw themselves down flat in the bottom of their boat. The Israeli captain ordered them via megaphone to raise their nets and leave the area. At this point the gunboat was less then 20 metres from Rafiq’s hassaka. The second time the gunboat came around no attempt was made to communicate with the fishermen. Rafiq was desperately pulling in the nets with his back facing the gunboat. An M-16 assault rifle was fired hitting him twice with explosive ‘dum-dum’ bullets, which peppered his back with shrapnel from the bullets themselves.
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