July 2010 Newsletter
Zaytoun on July 2nd, 2010- New stock in
- Zaytoun refinancing
- Harvest trip and tour news
- Gaza – live bullets for farmers
- Organic tomatoes and almonds
- Palestinian Medjoul Dates for Ramadan
- Ordering Zaytoun products
- Upcoming events
- Where to purchase our products
New stock in warehouse
The new container of olive oil from Canaan has arrived and all new stock of oil is now in our warehouse.
Financial support
2009 was a hard year for Zaytoun, with the Euro exchange rate, a poor harvest, and heavy investment in the Fairtrade launch all coinciding to challenge the stability of our financial footing. We’re happy to say that with the help of our board, and your continuing support in so many ways, we look like we are climbing back out of the rut. However, cashflow is still a problem for us – it’s still a challenge to find the money to put down on a new container of stock whilst we’re still paying for the last container. Your prompt payment and any prepayments you care to make all help in this regard, and also please consider a short-term loan to Zaytoun. At the moment we are planning for a couple of new orders from our suppliers, and would like to find an additional £30k from lenders. If you would like consider helping us out, with a loan of anything between £1000-£30,000 please email cathiATzaytoun.org in the first instance. Full updated financial information is available on request.
Harvest trip and tour news
The harvest tour will run from 1st – 7th November. Please check on http://www.zaytoun.org/harvest/harvest-tour/ for the itinerary and further details.
The picking trip will probably be in the middle two weeks of October. Training for this trip is due to take place on 14 August, venue to be confirmed. Inclusion on the team is by application – please email harvestATzaytoun.org for more details.
Background information on both trips can be found on our harvest page: http://www.zaytoun.org/harvest/about-the-harvest/
Gaza – live bullets for Gazan farmers
We’ve been reading a blog written by an activist in Gaza, she writes about the plight of Abu Taima’s family, who have a wheat harvest to get in under live fire in Gaza. Some of you will remember that we used to be able to get maftool from the women’s cooperatives in Gaza but since the Israeli blockade this has not been possible. We’d like to support the Gazan farmers however we can – please do check out this link.
Organic tomatoes and almonds
We are making plans to bring in organic sundried tomatoes from Canaan Fairtrade, and also organic almonds. Please look out for these items – we will be adding them to our order form in the coming month.
Palestinian Medjoul Dates for Ramadan
We are delighted to be working with Friends of Al Aqsa and Interpal in distributing Palestinian dates for Ramadan this year. The dates will be available via their offices in Leicester, Bradford, Walsall, Preston, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool. The dates will also be available via Zaytoun distributors across the country.
For more information about our dates please follow this link
http://www.zaytoun.org/products/catalogue/dates/
Ordering Zaytoun products
A few of you are emailing Manal’s address manalATzaytoun.org when placing orders. Whilst she can and does reply from this address to your order request, please try to place your orders through the orderATzaytoun.org address – this helps us manage our workload in the office and keep order correspondence separate.
Also, a reminder to those of you receiving deliveries to please count all boxes on delivery, before signing the delivery slip. We unfortunately cannot take responsibility for missing items if the delivery slip has been signed as all present and correct – it makes it difficult for us to follow up with the delivery companies and recoup our losses.
Upcoming Events
Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th July Real Food Festival Market Southbank Centre, London. Zaytoun has a new regular slot at this market on the first weekend of each month; come visit us and spread the word that Palestinian fare will be available here http://www.realfoodfestival.co.uk/content/view/493/147. If you would like to volunteer to help us out here please contact heatherATzaytoun.org
Sunday 4th July Liz Gentilcore will be holding a Fairtrade stall from 3-5pm,at Ye Olde Rose & Crown pub in Walthamstow. She will mainly be selling Fair Trade, Zaytoun products from Palestine and also she’s going to trial extending the stall to cover other Fair trade products, starting with Divine chocolate. The chocolate will be sold at cost price (so a bargain!) and as usual, the Zaytoun products have a small mark up and all proceeds go to her local Waltham Forest PSC group. The pub is on Hoe St, not far from the tube and High St, opposite the old cinema. This is a great opportunity and we hope it will now run monthly.
Tuesday July 13 , Frome Friends of Palestine will be hosting ‘A Taste of Palestine’. Raheesha of the Desert Divas fuses Gypsy freedom, Egyptian style and Turkish flamboyance in a sultry belly-dancing demonstration. ‘Breaking down the walls’ is the theme of Frome storyteller Nicola Grove’s act. “Stories are a great leveller”, she says, “because they are grounded in shared human experience”. Other events include a brand-new film about Bethlehem Link, the local charity that will be bringing young Palestinian performing arts students to Frome next year; a selection of pictures by local school children, produced in response to the Gaza Children’s Art exhibition earlier this year; and a range of delicious Middle Eastern food.
Masonic Hall, 7:30pm. £7.50/ £4 concessions, including food. Proceeds to Bethlehem Link. (Frome Festival Event no. 99)
Wednesday July 14 , Jewish comedian Ivor Dembina will present his one-man show ‘This Is Not A Subject For Comedy’, which charts his own transformation from pro-Israeli North London schoolboy to prominent anti-Zionist and supporter of Jews for Justice for Palestinians. Dembina’s show was staged in the Houses of Parliament shortly before the election - “the seat, the very birthplace, of hypocrisy – I mean, democracy”, as Ivor put it. “Dembina’s love for Jewish humanism and humour, and his sadness as that tradition is bulldozed by Zionism, are more sonorous than any division bell.” - Brian Logan in The Guardian.
The Granary, 7:00pm . £5 (Frome Festival Event no. 111)
Thursday July 15 , the Modern Arabic Literature magazine Banipal will be presenting ‘Arab Writing Today’, with readings by Syrian novelist Ghali a Kabbani, author of A Woman’s Morning, and Iraqi playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak, who won plaudits for his West End play Baghdad Wedding: (“Exhilarating… The dialogue is quick, sardonic, full of character” - Susannah Clapp, The Observer). They will be joined by Khyam Allami from Iraq , onetime drummer for Art of Burning Water and now a celebrated oud player. A bar and Arab food will be available.
Trinity Hall, 7:30 £8 (Frome Festival Event no. 133)
Frome Festival Box Office: 01373 455420 Mondays to Fridays: 9.30am - 2.30 and Saturdays: 9.30am - 5pm. Email: cheeseandgraintickets@hotmail.com
Please do send us details of your stalls and events so we can advertise them on the web and in the next newsletter.
Where to Purchase Zaytoun Products
Zaytoun is delighted that we now have nationwide coverage for our range of Palestinian products. The products can be obtained through a number of outlets:
Regional distributors remain the back bone of Zaytoun, both in terms of distributing products and also in terms of spreading the message of issues faced by Palestinian farmers. To find your nearest distributors please see:
www.zaytoun.org/distribution/regional-distribution
Online and retail distribution for the products has grown really well this year and this link lists online and retail outlets for Zaytoun products:
www.zaytoun.org/distribution/retail
Wholesale all Zaytoun’s products are now available through wholesalers so if you don’t see the products at your local retailers please let them know they are available through the following wholesalers:
www.zaytoun.org/distribution/wholesale
Please note these lists are regularly updated with new and changing outlets so please do check back and let us know if you would like to add new listings to this list by emailing contactATzaytoun.org
Thanks for your ongoing support,
Cathi, Manal, Rachel and Heather
