A good year for olives, a tough year for the farmers.

This year the organic, Fairtrade Palestinian olive oil from Zaytoun firmly established itself as a fine food ingredient. It is now stocked by Selfridges, Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic, independent delis and farm shops. Then last night, at the Social Enterprise Awards 2015, Zaytoun was the winner of the International Impact Award sponsored by the British Council. 

“We're so delighted to be a Social Enterprise winner! Our award reflects the extraordinary passion of our customers and the dedication of Palestinian farmers who inspire us every day."

It is proving to be a good year for the olive harvest in Palestine. But, it has been one of the hardest years for the farmers.

“The farmers are facing increased climate and political challenges. But because of progress they have made through Fairtrade market channels in terms of production and bottling, they are able to maintain the quality of the olive oil,” explains Zaytoun Managing Director, Manal Ramadan.

Rain-fed trees produce better flavour

The rich, peppery flavour of the oil is because the olive trees are rain-fed rather than irrigated. Palestinian farmers are not able to irrigate their trees because of the conflict, so trees are still rain-fed as they have been for thousands of years which results in a high quality oil. 

“Palestinian produce is now being recognised as one of the leading artisanal traditions in the world, and we are delighted that support for it is growing in the UK. One of the independent shops told us that their customers are picking up Zaytoun oil because of the attractive design, then they are buying it because it is from Palestine - and they are coming back for more because it tastes so good,” says Manal.

The impact of Fairtrade

Heather Masoud, one of the founders of Zaytoun, regularly visits Palestine.  Here are some of the highlights of this year's harvest trip:

• In the village of Sir, we caught up Mohammad Irsheid, a famer who supplies Zaytoun. His village co-operative have saved and invested their Fairtrade premium in restoring the beautiful old buildings in the village centre to be used for community activities including weddings and a children's nursery. This village co-operative has been part of the Palestinian Fair Trade Association since it started in 2004.
• We visited a new co-operative in the village of Beta near Nablus. The farmers in this area are seeing increased settler violence year on year and agricultural land being taken for illegal settlement expansion. There are concrete blocks at the entrance road to their village so that the army can close access in and out at any time. The day before we visited the village was 'closed' for 5 hours. Residents are not given reasons. They also endure army incursions into their houses. The women and children will be put in a room and the men taken outside. Furniture will be turned upside down. Again reasons are absent. This co-operative is pleased to have joined the Palestinian Fair Trade Association as they will have price and volume guarantees against their olive oil. They would like olive agriculture to remain a viable source of income for their kids.
• We asked a farmer, Hisham Aktash why it is important to buy the oil. He explained:  “The olive tree is a blessed tree, the oil is blessed. We would like everyone to support marginalised farmers living here under challenging conditions because we know how to produce good quality olive oil.”

Zaytoun customer attacked during the olive harvest

Despite the current crisis in Palestine, a group of 18 customers visited Palestine in October 2015 to take part in the olive harvest. They spent 10 days with the farmers, witnessing the difficulties the farmers face, accompanying them to groves where they have been threatened or attacked, and seeing first-hand the support and trade network that is the root of Zaytoun's success.  David Amos, from Barnes, has travelled before as a witness to the harvest but this year he was attacked by residents of the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar. He had rocks thrown at his head and was kicked once he fell to the ground. He says: “What happened to me - and much worse - is happening to Palestinians all day every day. I am only reported because I am British.”

Available for media

·        Food and celebrity photographer Chris Terry travelled to Palestine with Zaytoun. Photography is available from the trip on request.

·        Interview with MD of Zaytoun

·        Interview with David Amos, a volunteer harvest picker

·        Recipes using Zaytoun ingredients 

ENDS

For more information, product samples and high-resolution images, please contact:

Bridget Cowan, Email: bridget@eezap.com Tel: 07779 017968

Notes to Editors:

What is Zaytoun?

Zaytoun is a UK social enterprise importing and selling fairly traded Palestinian produce. Harvested and prepared by hand, our products are a creative response to the story of loss of land and livelihood under occupation. Zaytoun focuses on developing markets for Palestinian produce as a means to support a sustainable livelihood for the growers. We work with them to trial new products and bring product quality and packaging up to exacting UK standards.