SAHA, an Israeli Fair Trade Revolution

Green Action brings you Peace Oil Green Action, the best quality Palestinian extra virgin olive oil.


Green Action: Palestinians and Israelis Working for Fair Trade. Green Action works with Palestinian farmers in the Salfit region of the West Bank. They help the farmers organize into cooperatives, improve the quality of the olive oil to export standards, and harvest the olives. Green Action buys the olive oil for distribution in Israel and worldwide. Avi Levi, the director of Green Action, is one of few Israelis (other than settlers and soldiers) who regularly travel in the West Bank.

 

Avi Levi, fair trade activist, is one of a few civilian Israelis who travel regulary into the West Bank.					Israeli volunteers helping with the olive harvest, a time of celebration and hard work throughout Palestine.
		Palestinian farmer and member of of the Zaytoun Cooperative Avi helped set up in the Salfit area of the West Bank.

 

The SAHA Logo: Very Pretty, but What Does it Mean?

Green Action uses the SAHA logo to mark all its products as fair trade. The top row of lettering is Arabic for “Sakha”. (The “k” and “h” are pronounced together, deeper in the throat like you’re about to spit, but softly so you don’t disturb the people around you!) Sakha means Health or Well-being. The middle row of letters is Hebrew and also pronounced “Sakha”. The first and second letter, the “Sa” and “kh” sounds, are the first and second letters of the Hebrew word Sakhar or Trade (as in commerce). The third letter, the “ha” sound, is the first letter of the Hebrew word “Hogen” which means Fair. Put them together, Sakhar Hogen, and you have Fair Trade. The tiny letters at the bottom, “Kol Motzar Hogen” means Every Product is Fairly Traded.

The Taste of Peace Oil Green Action.

The olive oil in Peace Oil Green Action is 100% Nabali, the traditional olive cultivar of the Palestinian countryside. This olive has been grown in the region for hundreds of years. It has a unique flowery aroma, a moderate to strong peppery finish, and a “fruity” flavor. 

The trees are incredibly hardy and can produce plenty of fruit despite the harsh, dry conditions of the Mediterranean summer. Most farmers use little or no fertilizers or pesticides and irrigation is seldom seen. The fair trade guidelines followed by Green Action, those established by the Palestine Fair Trade Association, do not allow the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.

How about the quality? The 2008 harvest was tested at a laboratory in California and the results were excellent. The lab tests for a chemical called “Free Fatty Acid”. When the growing season conditions are not ideal, the olives have not been pressed properly, or the oil has aged under poor conditions, the Free Fatty Acid (FFA) tends to be higher. To qualify as Extra Virgin, European standards require a FFA content of .8% or less. The Green Action 2008 harvest tested at just over .5%.

See Peace Oil in Your Kitchen and on Your Plate for more discussion on the taste of Peace Oil and serving suggestions. (Photo courtesy of David Lytton)

The Label Says It All: Peace Oil Green Action.

The new label for Peace Oil Green Action was designed by David Sokal, owner of Olive Branch Enterprises. Olive Branch Enterprises (OBE) imports, bottles and distributes Peace Oil Green Action in the US and Canada.

Artwork for the branch with olives was based on an original illustration by Eva Appenzeller, a very accomplished Swiss designer. Eva graciously offered a trade of two bottles of Peace Oil in exchange for the use of her artwork. See Eva’s portfolio at www.eva-appenzeller.ch.

The bright blue sky reflects the intensity of the Mediterranean summer and the olive oil flavor, while also evoking hope for a better future.

“Palestinians & Israelis Working for Fair Trade” is written under the words “Green Action”. Given the inequality in just about every aspect of relations between the two people, this is a bold statement indeed.

The SAHA logo and the words “Fair Trade” appear below the tip of the olive branch.

To buy Peace Oil Green Action visit the shopping page at www.peaceoil.net.

Man/Woman Cannot Live by Olive Oil Alone.

SAHA/Green Action does more then buy olive oil. It helps build communities, preserve traditions and restore balance in unequal relations. Meet some of the other SAHA Community Partners:

SAHA distributes food products of the women of the Community Kitchen. These women met in the “Women Are Cooking Up Business” project that teaches low-income women how to open and run a food business. Why cook for free if you can translate that into a business? A few of the women pooled their assets and now share in the profits made from their collectively managed commercial kitchen. Products include Organic Fruit Jam and Gluten Free Cookies.

Wadi-Fukin (literally “Green Valley”) has been devastated by the occupation. Before the Separation Wall, the men worked on Israeli farms. Now they cannot leave the village. In response, the village women created the Women’s Association of Wadi-Fukin. They provide day care, mutual support and now, a means to make ends meet: pickles! Every woman is able to grow a small amount of produce in their yards. Green Action members discovered this resilient, resourceful group and has helped them improve the production and packaging of their product and set up a viable food business. Soon the pickles will be flying off the shelves.

Hand in Hand, center for Jewish-Arab Education, bridges the gap between the two groups through bilingual and multi-cultural schools. In September 2004, the first Jewish/Arab school was created: Bridge Over the Wadi School located in the Arab village of Kfar Kara. Jewish and Arab parents lobbied the Ministry of Education until they received approval to set up the school bringing Jewish and Arab children from all over the Wadi Ara region together in unsegregated classrooms. The school has received support from a range of contributors including a private group of Arab and Jewish mothers, grandmothers and aunts who raise funds by making and selling reusable bags. Their love of the environment and their faith that we are all part of a human tapestry is reflected in each unique, hand-sewn bag. When Green Action joined forces with them, a  SAHA design was made. Now SAHA sells the bags individually or as a container for gift packages of other SAHA products. All the profits go to the Bridge Over the Wadi School.

The World Watches as Fair Trade Grows in Israel Palestine

Green Action and the SAHA line of fair trade goods have gotten their fair share of attention on the Internet. There’s the very impressive photographic essay done by accomplished photographer Yasmine Soiffer simply titled “Harvest”. Yasmine participated as a Green Action volunteer helping with the winter olive harvest in 2008 when she took these photographs, some of the best depictions of the Palestinian olive harvest that you’ll ever see. 

Green Action was covered in Ha’aretz, one of Israel’s largest newspapers. This extensive article was written in August 2007. Ha’aretz also did a very visual coverage of the SAHA product line in a full-color, full-page spread in May 2008.

A full list of press coverage can be found on their website. Here are the best links:

Change.org, Faces of Fair Trade: Action in the Holy Land, Jan. 7, 2009


Treehugger, In Israel a Little Oil Goes a Long Way, 2006

Make Trade Fair, Israel & Palestinian Territories, undated

Peace Oil in Your Kitchen and on Your Plate.

First: Peace Oil on Your Palate.

In 2006 when I started Olive Branch Enterprises to import, bottle and distribute Palestinian olive oil I was concerned about the quality of the olive oil and what many referred to as its bitter taste. I did find that the SAHA/Green Action olive oil had a very strong burning sensation as I swallowed. I learned from Dani Livney, an Israeli olive farmer and friend, that this is what anyone familiar with olive oil expects from a high quality, intensely flavored oil.

The burning sensation, referred to as a “peppery finish”, is caused by oleocanthal, one of many healthy anti-oxidants in olive oil. This is the main pain-reducing compound in ibuprofen and may be associated with a reduction in Alzheimer’s. The presence of anti-oxidants literally reduces oxidation, extending the useful lifespan of vegetable oils.

I purchased a very expensive brand of Italian Tuscan olive oil (Coltobuono) to compare with the Palestinian oil. I was surprised that this too had a very strong peppery finish and overall intensity similar to that of the SAHA/Green Action olive oil.

Nevertheless, Palestinian olive oil, nearly all of which is made from the Nabali cultivar, is so unique in aroma and flavor that Palestinians I met in Seattle as I began to market Peace Oil could, with one whiff, immediately recognize it as the real deal from their homeland. It is hard to describe, but I know I have not tasted another olive oil like it.

The aroma has a distinctive flowery quality and the taste is officially categorized as “fruity” by the experts. But you’ll have to try it yourself to see what you think. In many tastings I’ve provided over the years, I've heard everything from “tastes more like olives than anything I've tasted” to “light and smooth with a nutty flavor”.

Tasting olive oil is a very individual experience.

There are now three varieties of Peace Oil, with two new ones introduced in August 2009. Two of the three are mostly or entirely Nabali, but the third is mostly made of a modern Israeli cultivar, the Bernea, a whole different animal. See Which is Which and What is That? to learn more.  

How Do I Use Peace Oil?

I am frequently asked how to use Peace Oil in food preparation. The answer is simple: as you would any gourmet, extra virgin olive oil. I prefer not to use Peace Oil as a cooking oil. It is much tastier and retains more of its healthy qualities when it is not heated. I recommend using as a salad dressing, for dipping bread, as a sauce on everything from pasta to meats after they're cooked.

But some do prefer to cook with olive oil, even the more expensive extra virgin, as the flavor more fully blends with whatever you are cooking. If you do cook with Peace Oil, don't go over 300 F (medium or less in a frying pan). If it does smoke, throw it away and start over.

Peace Oil and Za'atar (Sung to the Tune of “Soup and Sandwich”)

In Palestine, a traditional breakfast dish consists of a mixture of za'atar and olive oil (more details below). Za'atar is a wild growing herb that is found all over the Mediterranean with a taste somewhere between thyme and oregano (or perhaps even sage). Many think it is the hyssop referred to in the Bible. The za'atar is mixed with salt, sesame seeds, sumac (for a lemony zing) and a touch of olive oil.

The resulting mixture is also often referred to as za'atar or za'atar mix. If you can't find za'atar mix in a store, you may find the separate ingredients in the bulk herbs and spices section of your neighborhood natural foods grocery. Buy the ingredients and mix to taste. Sindyanna and Canaan Fair Trade both sell za'atar mix ready to use. Someday I will sell Sindyanna’s za'atar at peaceoil.net.

The traditional Palestinian breakfast is simple enough:

1) take a small dipping bowl and fill with Peace Oil

2) pour in za'atar mix to taste and stir

3) dip bread or pita and take a bite, and another, and another …

I have this dish at least once a day now.

For a fancier version:

1) slice of fresh-baked bread, pita or even a rice cake

2) spread plain organic, non-fat yogurt thickly on the bread (Nancy’s Yogurt is my choice)

3) drizzle Peace Oil over the yogurt (as much as you want)

4) sprinkle za'atar on top

When I told my friend Amer Ahmad, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, that I was eating olive oil in this manner, he was surprised that a native of the USA would know about this Middle Eastern secret. I thought I had invented it!

My Israeli cousin lives on a kibbutz on the northern-most border of Israel and picks wild-growing za'atar right outside his front door.

He recommends this absolutely delicious treat with za'atar:

1) slice of fresh-baked bread

2) smear Peace Oil on liberally

3) sprinkle with za'atar

4) use a toaster oven or even the broiler in your oven to toast to a golden brown (3 to 4 mins.)

You'll know it’s done when your kitchen fills with a heavenly aroma. Could be a good appetizer next time you have guests over.

While we're on the topic of heavenly aromas: a brilliant young Gazan named Sami who was an exchange student in nearby Olympia told me this kitchen tale from his homeland. His mother makes bread dough and just before it goes in the oven, sprinkles za'atar on the dough. I can still see his eyes light up as he recalls the aroma of the baking bread and za'atar filling his home.

Peace Oil Fan Mail Suggestion

Who would think of olive oil and chocolate in the same sentence? This one is from Ms. Solomon, a neighbor of a good friend here in Seattle.

Solomon’s Royal Buffet:

1) Ingredients: BASE - thin crackers. TOPPINGS - hummus, tapenade of black olives ( kalamata or Middle Eastern olives marinated), sea salt, grated unsweetened chocolate, goat cheese and Peace Oil.

2) Place all the toppings in appropriate containers on a large platter with the crackers.

3) Guests make their own appetizers combining any of the toppings using the following suggested amounts: thin layer of hummus, ½ teaspoon of tapenade, ½ teaspoon of goat cheese, sprinkle some grated chocolate, sea salt and finally drizzle Peace Oil.

According to Ms. Solomon, “… they all work beautifully together. An explosion of tastes!”

I also recommend for those of you who avoid chocolate (as I do) to substitute with carob powder, readily available at most natural food stores. Carob is another Mediterranean indigenous food and is sold in syrup form by Sindyanna of Galilee. Unlike chocolate it is free of saturated fat (even unsweetened cocoa powder contains saturated fat!). By “goat cheese” I think Ms. Solomon is referring to goat feta, but maybe other forms of goat cheese as well. I highly recommend goat or sheep feta.

Where to Find More … Lots More …
Recipes With Olive Oil (You Guessed It - Amazon):

		Olive Trees and Honey, A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World Gil Marks Wiley Publishing, Inc. Hoboken NJ, 2005
		The Best 50 Olive Recipes Catharine Pagano Fulde Bristol Publishing Enterprises San Leandro CA, 1998
		Olive Oil Sauces, Appetizers & Entrees Maxine Clark, Clare Ferguson, Clare Gordon-Smith, Laura Washburn Ryland, Peters & Small New York NY; 2007
		The Flavors of Olive Oil, A Tasting Guide and Cookbook Deborah Krasner, Simon & Schuster New York NY, 2002
		The Mediterranean Diet, Olive Oil Cookery Maher A. Abbas, M.D. and Marilyn J. Spiegl Book Publishing Company Summertown TN, 1995
		Extra Virgin, Cooking with Olive Oil Clare Ferguson; Ryland, Peters & Small New York NY, 2000
		The Essential Olive Oil Companion, Recipes, Varieties, Histories, Cultivation Anne Dolamore Interlink Books Brooklyn NY, 2000

How to Enjoy Fair Trade Palestinian Olive Oil …

… and Live in a More Peaceful World.

The enjoyment of Peace Oil is simple. Buy and use it as you would any gourmet, extra virgin olive oil. See Peace Oil in Your Kitchen and on Your Plate for dishes and serving ideas.

Now, how about living in a more peaceful world? Here’s how it works: 

Avi Levi, director of SAHA/Green Action, an Israeli fair trade organization, buys olive oil from Palestinian cooperatives in the West Bank area of Salfit. Avi is providing income for the farmers and is building bridges of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. See SAHA, an Israeli Fair Trade Revolution for more information on this unique grass-roots effort. See Living in the Dark describing how Avi’s work in the West Bank is shining a light on the dark divide between two peoples.

Hadas Lahav, director of Sindyanna of Galilee, an Israeli fair trade orgainization run by Arab and Jewish women, buys olive oil from Palestinians living within Israel. Sindyanna strengthens the Palestinian community and empowers Palestinian women in Israel. To learn more about Sindyanna’s work for Arab women’s rights see Home is Sweet, Work is Power.

Canaan Fair Trade, a Palestinian company in Jenin Palestine buys olive oil from 1700 West Bank farmers. CFT invests in the community by providing university scholarships to Palestinian students and plants thousands of olive trees a year. CFT is the marketing arm of the Palestine Fair Trade Association which establishes the fair trade guidelines followed by CFT and both of the Israeli groups. Learn more about PFTA in Fair Play for Farmers, A Harvest of Justice.

SAHA, Sindyanna and Canaan Fair Trade supply fair trade Palestinian extra virgin olive oil for Peace Oil. All three of these groups are working for peace and justice in Israel Palestine. You support their work when you buy Peace Oil.

How can you enjoy fair trade Palestinian olive oil and live in a more peaceful world? Buy Peace Oil.

Living in the Dark, an extensive travelblog: David Sokal, owner of Olive Branch Enterprises, visits the farmer and press house that supplies the SAHA/Green Action 2008 harvest for Peace Oil. His journey with Avi Levi, director of SAHA, provides insight into politics, culture and history in Israel Palestine, as well as interesting perspectives on olive oil, olive trees and life in the West Bank.