Friday, November 30, 2007

Holiday gift ideas: Sale of Olive Branch Palestinian Olive Oil

Here's a great idea for holiday gift giving from Brooklyn for Peace:

Sale of Olive Branch Palestinian Olive Oil

Support Palestinian farmers and families by purchasing fairly-traded olive oil from small farmer cooperatives in the West Bank. Olive Branch Olive Oil comes to us from the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) a non-profit non-governmental organization in the West Bank.

Enjoy delicious, extra-virgin, first-cold-pressed olive oil, produced without pesticides or sprays. (Palestinian farmers traditionally care for their trees without the use of pesticides or sprays. The process is underway for obtaining organic certification.) Bottled in dark green glass bottles for optimal storage, to avoid light; storage advised in cool conditions.

Support tree re-planting and other development projects in Palestine.

Give gifts of olive oil as a way to initiate conversation with friends and family about conditions in Palestine.

Price: $20 per 750 ml bottle.
A portion of the purchase price is donated to tree replanting and other development projects in the West Bank. Proceeds also support the ongoing peace and justice work of Brooklyn For Peace.

Olive Branch Olive Oil is bottled in dark green glass bottles to avoid light. Storage is advised under cool conditions. (Both light and heat are known enemies of olive oil.)

To arrange for pick-up times and locations, contact us at is.pales@brooklynpeace.org, or call 718-624-5921. (Sorry, we cannot mail to you.)

Provide your name, phone number, email, and desired number of bottles (maximum 6 bottles per customer), and where you prefer to pick up your order (Boerum Hill, Park Slope, or Flatbush locations). We will confirm your order, and set a date/time for you to pick up.

Additional information:
Olive oil is the backbone of the Palestinian agricultural economy. Eighty percent of cultivated land in Palestine is planted with olive trees; the olive harvest provides 25 to 50 percent of a farming family's annual income. Olive trees, many of which are hundreds of years old, hold a deep significance in the culture and economy of the Holy Land. As the political and economic situation in Palestine continues to deteriorate, with increased restrictions on the mobility of people, goods, and services, production and sale of olive oil has become a matter of basic survival for many Palestinian families. Buying Olive Branch Olive Oil is a constructive and tangible way in which we can help to alleviate poverty and build peace.

Olive Branch Olive Oil comes directly from the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees a non-profit non-governmental organization in the West Bank. For over 20 years, PARC has been at the forefront of promoting Palestinian agriculture. PARC purchases its olive oil from 85 different small farmer cooperatives throughout rural Palestine and has been working in recent years to develop its Fair Trade Division which also exports dates, za'atar, and couscous from Gaza. PARC is a member of the Palestinian Free Trade Associations, and is the only Palestinian organization that has received the Palestine Standards Institution certification for its olive oil. In the U.S., Olive Branch Olive Oil is distributed from Boston.

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