NEF Support for the Palestinian Olive Oil Industry Gets Specific

Website: http://www.neareast.org/main/news/article.aspx?id=476

PREVIOUS | NEXTNEF is committed to revitalizing this traditional Palestinian industry. The goal--extra virgin olive oil guaranteeing higher selling prices for olive farmers and oil pressers alike.

It's official, the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture has declared olive harvesting time to be October 15-20 in the vast and ancient olive groves around the "cluster" of West Bank villages north of Nablus where the Near East Foundation is at work.

Far more than sentimental attachment in the eyes of Palestinians, these olive trees--properly managed--can raise the incomes of hard-working farmers who often get relatively low prices from traders for their olive oil and not the true value of their product. NEF is committed to revitalizing this traditional Palestinian industry, in partnership with Human Concern International and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth. The goal--extra virgin olive oil guaranteeing higher selling prices for olive farmers and oil pressers alike.

First Came Listening--then Action

Following up on the July 4th workshop held in Asira Al Shamaliya (see webstory posted Sunday, July 17) and subsequent meetings, 105 farmers met very specific criteria and were selected to work with NEF. They guaranteed their commitment to both project guidelines and instruction from NEF training.

Expert consultant Fares Al Jabi is well respected and widely experienced in the production of olives and has numerous publications to his credit--also being distributed to the farmers. Further, the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture is providing instructors to assist Mr. Al Jabi in demonstrating the best ways to tend olive trees, how and when to prune, when and what fertilizer to use, and most important, when to pick the olives. So far 14 farmer field school sessions have been conducted and more are planned.

And NEF plans to upgrade five olive presses in the area, and hopefully an additional two shortly, all under the supervision of Dr. Osama Oudeh, an olive farmer and press owner himself as well as a renowned specialist in the field. Upgrading involves the use of stainless steel containers instead of plastic, regular press machine cleaning, water changes at least once every 24 hours, controlled room temperature, and fast pressing-- within a day or two at the most after picking--to assure fresh taste and low acidity. What results is the high quality and highly sought "extra virgin olive oil" that garners higher selling prices and can provide a significant boost to area farmers' incomes.

Financial Contribution

Press owners are being asked to purchase at least a thousand ventilated, plastic boxes for the olives, keeping them fresh and guarding against bad odors found in the plastic bags the boxes will replace. The project will pick up 30 percent of that cost as well as the complete $250 price of a kit that tests the acidity level of the olive oil that will be given free to each press owner. Also, the project has pledged to contribute 50 percent of the cost of purchasing needed farming tools like shovels, ladders, and the thick cotton sheets spread under each olive tree at picking time.

In a complete follow through from start to finish, NEF is informing olive oil traders about the project and its anticipated results to ultimately arrange a fairer, better deal when selling time comes around. NEF plans to continue working with "cluster" area farmers for another year, then expand its olive oil industry revitalization further afield--all part of creating an integrated development model for the West Bank with economic, environmental, health, nutrition and education components.

Source

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