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16. March 2017
«Sumud»
For many Palestinians in the West Bank the Arabic expression «Sumud», in German «steadfastness», has become a kind of motto. Because for years any kind of development has been difficult.
People expect daily news about destructions, attacks by Israeli settlers and the construction of new fences that restrict them. According to international law, it is Israel's duty as an occupying power to protect Palestinian civilians and their property, to guarantee farmers safe access to their fields and to hold those who try to prevent them accountable. That is the theory.
In practice almost any piece of land can be declared a security zone by Israel from one day to the next, thereby denying farmers access. Areas of cultivation adjacent to Israeli settlements are particularly often affected. Farmers then need a permit to continue reaching their fields and must pass through gates that are often opened and closed arbitrarily. As a result, the harvest can usually only be collected on a few days, regardless of the weather or the ripeness of the fruit. For the farmers it is thus almost impossible to manage their fields efficiently.
However, if they do not cultivate their land for more than three years it can be confiscated — without regard to what caused the lack of cultivation. Thus the fact that the olive harvest has fallen in the last 15 years from around 30,000 to 20,000 tons per year is not due to a lower yield of the trees, but to the fact that Palestinians' freedom of movement is increasingly being restricted.
And even when farming families have access to their land, they often cannot work it undisturbed. Especially during the harvest there are increasingly frequent attacks by Israeli settlers. Every year harvest volunteers therefore travel from Europe to the West Bank. Their main task is to be present when incidents occur and to prevent escalations where possible; working as laborers during the harvest is secondary.
Fertile Land
The area of the West Bank today is roughly the size of the canton of Bern. Farming families produce almonds, dates, tomatoes and spices and create terraced olive groves. Three quarters of all the trees here are olive trees. The land is fertile and because goods, unlike people, can relatively easily cross the borders, an income can be generated from them.
Our partner, the association «Campaign Olive Oil», has made use of this very fertility and has been working on the ground for 16 years now to effect change and develop perspectives despite the political situation. Together with various partners, an olive oil of organic and extra virgin quality was developed, which is exported to Western Europe and sold there. What began out of concern about developments in the Middle East has today become an important sales channel for olive oil and the spice blend za'atar.
With the profit, the «Campaign Olive Oil» supports various aid projects in Palestine. One of these is the ecovillage Farkha, which is currently being established. The agricultural economist Saad Dagher is responsible for its development. He was already instrumental in developing the quality of the olive oil and is now involved, among other things, as the voluntary head of the Arab Agronomist Association (AAA). "The soil is our foundation, it is all we have. That is what we must build on," says Saad Dagher.
The goal of his project, Saad Dagher sees, is to establish a way of life in Palestine's villages that, among other things, ensures the inhabitants' self-sufficiency. A few years ago, Saad Dagher was able to win over the population of the village of Farkha for his undertaking. It lies 30 km north of Ramallah and is home to around 1,500 people, 3,500 sheep, goats and cows. Here agriculture is to develop in which healthy food for people and animals is produced while acting considerately toward nature and its resources. Gradually the families are being trained to farm agroecologically, to retain rainwater, to use solar energy, to use green waste as compost and much more. A training center, a teaching garden and a tree nursery have already been established. The project is growing, the village is developing and more and more farmers are taking part. Once Saad Dagher has reached his goal with Farkha, he also wants to transform the surrounding villages in Palestine.
Projects should give hope
The olive oil production, the eco-village and also the other projects (see below) that the "Olive Oil Campaign" supports with the proceeds from the olive oil have one main goal: They are meant to radiate hope and, despite all restrictions, offer Palestinians, especially the young people and the women, a perspective.
Especially in this uncertain time, when from every tree planted today there may be nothing left tomorrow. But the "Olive Oil Campaign" and all the partner organizations on the ground have agreed that they too will take one thing to heart: Sumud.
Solidarity contribution
We at gebana have been supporting the association «Kampagne Olivenöl» since the start of the project by organizing the import and selling the olive oil to our customers, shops and restaurants. In addition, for each litre of olive oil sold we pass on a solidarity contribution of 2 francs/1.85 euros to «Kampagne Olivenöl» to finance aid projects.
Diverse Engagement
The project support of the «Olive Oil Campaign» is wide-ranging. Kindergartens in refugee camps in Lebanon are supported and oil and dates for the poorest in a refugee camp in Gaza are financed for Ramadan. In addition, a wind and solar energy project in Susya in the barren highlands south of Hebron is being advanced, where residents are denied access to electricity and water. The «Olive Oil Campaign» also helps the Palestinian Medical Relief Society with monetary donations to train young women as village nurses. These are urgently needed, because villages are often remote and the road is in a dilapidated condition or completely closed. Especially for chronically ill people, trained medical staff on site is therefore important.