[Willow Heske]
Palestinian olive growers make some of the best olive oil in the world, but unless you have travelled to the holy land chances are you have never had the pleasure of tasting the fruit of trees that date back to Roman times.
Despite the capacity to produce a surplus of olive oil, Palestinian olive farmers have seen little reason to send their treasured oil abroad. Occupation makes exporting less than profitable- many farmers have lost their land and their trees and they lack access to Israeli controlled markets.
To put the incentive back into producing, Oxfam has come up with a plan to support olive growers by helping to certify their oil as Fairtrade, which means anywhere it is marketed the farmers are guaranteed to get a fair price.
Eman Hadweh from Bethlehem University’s Fairtrade Development Centre (FTDC) believes that the price will help Palestinian farmers see their potential in global markets:
[Eman Hadweh, FTDC]
Fairtrade provides an alternative marketing channel for Palestinian olive farmers, so if we go through the traditional channels to market olive oil it might be really difficult for them to have a competitive advantage over the other olive oil available in the world therefore it can really assist them in finding a niche market through which they can market their products.
[Willow Heske]
Knowing you can make a profit is a real incentive for Fairtrade farmers world-wide, but for Palestinian farmers Fairtrade isn’t just about reaching markets, its also about using their product to deliver a message. Raed Taha is the Director of the Anabtawi group, a Palestinian trading company working to market olive oil abroad. Raed says that when Western consumers see Palestinian olive oil on their supermarket shelves it can help raise awareness to the problems the farmers face:
[Raed Taha, Anabtawi]
The Palestinian issue, or the Palestinian example is probably the easiest way to link Fairtrade into the products. The Farmers are facing occupation, uprooting their trees, all those kinds of problems they are facing because of the occupation. So if we try to send a message saying that by buying this product you are supporting the farmers to continue their life, to improve their life, I think this is a very good hand to consumers.
People are paying not only to support the Palestinian farmers but to keep or support the original community, to support the life. I believe that the trade of fair trade products is going to improve dramatically in the coming years even with the economical crisis- still people they prefer to pay a premium to support other communities, you know, support the human culture in general.
[Willow Heske]
More than 100,000 Palestinians rely on olive farming as the primary source of their income, but no one in Palestine considers olive farming as just a regular job. There is a culture of olive farming that dates back hundreds of years, that links families to the land of their ancestors, and that serves as a source of Palestinian pride. Tayser Arabassi from the UK based ethical trading company Zaytoun says that while Fairtrade is improving the farmers lives the whole Fairtrade process- from the Palestinian tree to the European supermarket shelf- is about the power of perseverance.
[Tayser Arabassi, Zaytoun]
Just their daily life where they have to struggle, to keep on generating or trying to get some income some food for their children and families, and so on, from this background actually we have realized the importance and the necessity of trading their products fairly in the UK.
For the Palestinian farmers, its not a matter of option- its not optional whether they harvest or cultivate or not because the olive tree is not only a agricultural practice it’s a matter of honor, of dignity for them. The tree the land the heritage that is behind all of this, whether it is profitable or it losses they will carry on cultivating it.
[Willow Heske]
The Fairtrade olive oil from the Oxfam project is being marketed in health and specialty shops across Ireland and the UK under the Zaytoun label. You can show your support for the farmers by bringing a taste of Palestine home. For Oxfam GB in Jerusalem, this is Willow Heske.