Fair trade fortnight - Olive oil

A highlight of this year’s Fair Trade Fortnight, was when I together with friends and colleagues from Stirling got the chance on Thursday to taste the Award-winning Zaytoun Palestinian olive oil and hear the story of producer Abu Kamal. 

In Stirling Council’s Old Viewforth building, Abu told of the early challenges faced in producing and exporting olive oil, almonds and herbs from Palestine, gaining Fair Trade and organic produce status and last year winning a Soil Association award and recognition for top quality olive oil. As the world’s only fair trade olive oil producers, Palestinian olive growers found firsthand the real difference that getting a fair price is finally giving them. Through the fair trade premium, they have now been able to fund basic items like fridges for storing medicines in health centres, air-con for the village kindergarden, computers for schools and a scholarship fund for poor children who had the chance of a university education but could not afford to go. Abu Kamal’s own son was amongst those who have now been able to take up a university offer thanks to fair trade. 

Abu’s village, Al-Rameh, known as the Lebanon of Palestine, is  20km southwest of the city of Jenin and produces  ten tons of olive oil each year. But water shortage caused by climate change and the encroachment of new Israeli settlements is making the going much tougher. 

Extending an invitation to come and visit Al-Rameh, Abu described  the long,  spiritual and also musical  tradition of relationship with the land and olive growing: “Our fathers and mothers plant so we can eat. We plant so our children can eat.”

The meeting was organised by Fair Trade Stirling. Co-ordinator, Jon Cape added “Abu Kamal’s story shows how fair trade really does provide a lifeline. This is the only olive oil in the world to have earned the Fair Trade label so it’s easy to spot. The bottles can have various branding and have just been launched by Sainsbury’s in Stirling as well as the Co-op in Bridge of Allan."