August 2010 newsletter
Zaytoun on September 1st, 2010Dear Zaytoun customers and supporters,
Firstly may we take the opportunity this month to wish all of our Muslim supporters a very Happy Ramadan!
August 2010 Newsletter
l Roasted almonds
l Zaytoun refinancing
l Harvest trip and tour news
l Medjoul Dates
l Ordering Zaytoun products
l Upcoming events
l Where to purchase our products
New packeted roasted almonds!
We have had positive feedback to our trial of the smoked and honey roasted almonds so are now offering these in 150g retail packs. This new item is on the latest order form, please contact order(AT)zaytoun.org
Financial support
Many thanks to all of you who have pledged financial support in the form of loans to Zaytoun, following our call last month. We’re pleased to report that we now have a total of £28,000 pledged, which will help us enormously with our cash flow and facilitate a smoother flow of stock from Palestine into our warehouse. Latest management accounts indicate that our financial health is improving once more, following a difficult 18 months due to so many reasons – we wouldn’t still be here without you!
Harvest trip and tour news
It was the life changing experience of visiting Palestine which motivated us to start Zaytoun; if you are interested in joining us on a visit the olive harvest is the time to do it. Since 2004 Zaytoun have run harvest tours and olive picking trips, if you would like to join us this year please get in touch.
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 now be early October. Training for this trip is due to take place on 21 August, venue to be confirmed (a change in date, please note, from 14 August). Inclusion on the team is by application – please email harvest(AT)zaytoun.org for more details.
Background information on both trips can be found on our harvest page: http://www.zaytoun.org/harvest/about-the-harvest/
Social Vision photography competition – help us win!
Social Vision is out to find the images that best capture the work of social enterprises. Now in its third year the photography competition is run by Triodos Bank and the Social Enterprise Coalition in association with Social Enterprise magazine.
As you may know, Triodos have always been very supportive of Zaytoun, and this is a chance to raise our profile with their customers, as well as within the social enterprise network. As a Community Interest Company, we have received help, support and guidance from this network which has enabled us to grow as a financially sustainable ethical company. The winning photographer and the social enterprise featured each win £750, and the winning enterprise gains.
a year’s free membership to the Social Enterprise Coalition
a year’s free subscription to Social Enterprise magazine as well as
£1,000 worth of print advertising in Social Enterprise magazine
What we are looking for are high-resolution pics of you, our supporters, perhaps together with Palestinian farmers if you’ve been on one of our picking trips, or perhaps at a stall or other event with your local group selling Zaytoun products. Something that captures not just the product, but your involvement with it – the relationships you may make through your engagement with the Zaytoun story, and the story of the farming communities which our sales support.
For further details please visit
http://www.triodos.co.uk/en/about-triodos/news-and-media/social-vision/
The competition will close on Friday 1 October at 5pm. Please contact cathi(AT)zaytoun.org if you think you may have some suitable pictures.
Medjoul Dates
With Ramadan approaching Zaytoun’s Palestinian medjoul dates have been flying out of the warehouse. All of our 5kg stocks are now with various regional distributors; we do still have plenty of the 250g packs in stock.
We have worked with Friends of Al Aqsa for the last two of years to couple the campaign of boycotting products from the illegal Israeli settlements with buying Palestinian products. The medjoul date is a product which symbolises the importance of this approach. The Jordan Valley contains some of the most fertile farm lands of Occupied Palestinian Territories. This blessing has been a curse for many Palestinians as it has resulted in their land being taken for the expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements. The medjoul date is largely an export crop and the Israeli government have put huge investment behind this product’s development. When we have visited the Jordan Valley we have seen large settlement farms with the brands of products we see back here in our UK supermarkets.
Palestinian farmers are trying to access the export market for medjoul dates themselves but face barriers through the occupation and in trying to compete in price against the subsidies and high export volumes of the Israeli product.
For more information about our dates please follow this link
http://www.zaytoun.org/products/catalogue/dates/
For more details of Friends of Al Aqsa’s check the label campaign please follow this link:
http://www.aqsa.org.uk/RESOURCES/BoycottIsraeliDates2010/tabid/163/language/en-GB/Default.aspx#Top
Ordering Zaytoun products
A few of you are emailing Manal’s address manal(AT)zaytoun.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 order(AT)zaytoun.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 slips. 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.
