Olive farmers tour Yorkshire
This Fairtrade Fortnight, Zaytoun Olive farmers, Manal Abdallah and Abu Rafat (AKA. Odeh), toured Yorkshire to talk about how Fairtrade has made a difference to their livelihoods.
Richard of Fairtrade Keighley, Manal and Odeh.
They brought with them some stunning images of 2,000-year-old olive trees and farming life in Palestine.
Fairtrade has made a huge difference to them – all exports from Palestine have to go through checks and transfers imposed by Israel, which rendered it extremely difficult to export until the Fairtrade movement stepped in to help trade to take place.
Now they can not only export olives and olive oil, but couscous, sun-dried tomatoes and other foodstuffs.
These are often produced by the women of a family, which improves their standing and also brings in a second source of income.
The Yorkshire tour, organised by Zaytoun retailer Hilary Davies, included visits to the universities of Bradford and Leeds, schools in Skipton and talks in Keighley town centre and in the centre of York. Hilary is planning for a larger tour of Yorkshire to take place in the near future.
Rita from Fairtrade Haworth, the oldest Fairtrade village in the region & Richard of Fairtrade Keighley, our newest campaign. Both meet with Odeh and Manal.
Manal of Zaytoun
Do check out the range of award winning Zaytoun products on their website.
