Olive Oil The Lifeblood of Palestine

Zaytoun on February 21st, 2009

Fair 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.