For most people, fair trade means making sure South American and African farmers get paid a reasonable wage to grow coffee and chocolate. But in Israel, fair trade is much more local. Two companies have emerged in the last few years to provide a living wage for farmers in the region.
The first, SAHA, is a Hebrew acronym for Fair Trade, as well as the Arabic word for “bon appetit.” SAHA was launched by the environmental-social group Green Action in 2005, according to Green Action director Avi Levi. SAHA sells olive oil, sage, zaatar and grape syrup (pictured at the left) made by Palestinian farmers in the West Bank, as well as jam cooked up by Jerusalem women. Israelis can also buy SAHA coffee grown in South America.
Levi said that while some Israelis start buying SAHA olive oil for political reasons, others appreciate the taste of local, organic, extra-virgin olive oil is outstanding. SAHA sold eight tons of oil this year, he said.
“We work with an Italian delicatessen in Ramat Hachayal,” Levi said. “They were bringing in their olive oil from Italy. And they tasted our olive oil and saw it isn’t any worse.”
The second brand hawking local free trade is Sindyanna of the Galilee, which is a mix of Arabic and English for Oak of the Galilee. This company markets olive oil, soap, zaatar, honey, carob syrup and baskets produced with traditional Palestinian methods. Most of the producers are from Arab villages in Israel, although some soap comes from Nablus, a city in the northern West Bank. Sindyanna is selling fair trade gift boxes for the holidays; NIS 70 gets a bottle of olive oil, a jar of honey and a jar of zaatar.
Both companies marry the idea of fair trade to local eating, which cuts down on the energy needed to ship food around the world.
Author: Daniella Cheslow
Daniella Cheslow grew up in a car-dependent suburb in New Jersey, where she noticed strip malls and Wal-Marts slowly replacing farmland. Her introduction to nature came through hiking trips in Israel. As a counselor for a freshman backpacking program at Northwestern University, Daniella noticed that Americans outdoors seemed to need to arm themselves with performance clothing, specialized water bottles and sophisticated camping silverware. This made her think about how to interact with and enjoy nature simply. This year, Daniella is getting a Master’s in Geography from Ben Gurion University of the Negev. She also freelance writes, photographs and podcasts. In her free time, she takes day trips in the desert, drops off compost and cooks local foods like stuffed zucchini, kubbeh and majadara. Daniella gets her peak oil anxiety from James Howard Kunstler and her organic food dreams from Michael Pollan. Read more at her blog, TheTruthHerzl.com. Daniella can be reached at daniella (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
To purchase the olive oils of Green Action and Sindyanna, please visit http://www.peaceoil.net. Each fair trade groups' olive oil is available separately as well as in a mix of the two along with the olive oil of the Palestinian group, Canaan Fair Trade. Green Action olive oil is not available in the US other than at http://www.peaceoil.net. Support small Palestinian farmers struggling under occupation, cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians and eat healthy olive oil. Also makes an excellent gift for all occasions. Definitely a more unique hostess gift than the expected bottle of wine. Thanks for supporting peace in Israel Palestine. David Sokal, owner of Olive Branch Enterprises the exclusive importer, bottler and distributor of Peace Oil in the US and Canada.
To purchase the olive oils of Green Action and Sindyanna, please visit http://www.peaceoil.net. Each fair trade groups' olive oil is available separately as well as in a mix of the two along with the olive oil of the Palestinian group, Canaan Fair Trade. Green Action olive oil is not available in the US other than at http://www.peaceoil.net. Support small Palestinian farmers struggling under occupation, cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians and eat healthy olive oil. Also makes an excellent gift for all occasions. Definitely a more unique hostess gift than the expected bottle of wine. Thanks for supporting peace in Israel Palestine. David Sokal, owner of Olive Branch Enterprises the exclusive importer, bottler and distributor of Peace Oil in the US and Canada.
Hi Carol,
Unfortunately SAHA no longer attend the Tel Aviv farmers market. Our products are in a range of shops around Tel Aviv and Israel, please check out our website to see where your nearest stockist is: http://www.fairtrade.org.il/content/buy-saha-products
Or call our office on: 03.5270477
We look forward to hearing from you
Michelle
Thank you Yonatan for the website.
I have a query. Saha products were once (EARLY SUMMER) available at the
Tel Aviv Farmers’ Market. In addition there were products not usually offered in Tel Aviv such as Taybeh beer from Ramallah. Then in the fall (October) they were no longer there. Instead products from Jewish settlements are very much in evidence (EG tAKOAH MUSHROOMS). Anyone know anything about this? Wher can thewe products be acquired.
Carol
to all interested, SAHA’s new site can be found at http://www.fairtrade.org.il
cheers,
Yonatan