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Past Activities
Olive Picking
 In October every year the Olive Harvest begins and continues until all the olives have been picked. However, the earlier you pick the olives the better! So, this year Green Action organized a group of 30 volunteers to go to the village of Massha (part of the Zaytun Farmer's Cooperative), in the Samaria area to help the farmers to pick olives. We left Tel Aviv at 9am and drove the short distance to reach the Palestinian village well before 10am. It was an interesting drive, seeing the security barries on approach to the check point. No one was stopping the cars approaching Palestine, it is only the cars coming into Israel that are checked.
 We met the farmers and their families and they showed us how to pick the olives, the aim was to pick as many olives as possible with very few leaves. We then dropped the olives we picked onto huge pieces of fabric, which were placed under the treet to collect the falling olives. When there were no more olives to be seen we gathered up the fabric and poured the olives into plastic crates. This allows the air to circulate between the olives and is far better than storing them in bags or sacks.
 After a hard morning picking olives on a beautiful sunny day, we all sat down together and ate the delicious lunch prepared for us by some of the women from the village. We ate humus and fool with pita bread, salad and falafel (it was the best falafel I have had since I arrived in Israel!) and a cup of lentil soup. We were then able to hear from the farmer about the Olive Harvest, how they make the Olive Oil and the process to ensure that their olive oil is both organic and Extra Virgin. He told us that we were in fact not harvesting the olive trees from his village of Massha, as their land is on the West side of the village and is now on the other side of the separation wall. We were actually harvesting trees on land of their neighbouring village Bidiya! (also part of the Zaytun Farmers Cooperative).
 When everyone was fully fed and well rested we got back to work on picking olives. There were people on the ground under the trees picking from the low hanging branches, many people around the trees and more up high at the top of long ladders picking the olives from all directions. Around 4:30 in the afternoon, when the sun was starting to go down and we had managed to fill a van full of olives, we headed to the pressing house where they clean the olives and make them into Saha Extra Virgin Olive Oil. We were then invited to have coffee with the farmers and their families. By the end of the day I felt happy to have been part of such an important process and exhausted from all the work!
All pictures were taken by © Yasmine Soiffer 2008, www.yasminesoiffer.com
Green Movement Fair Last week, Green Action attended the fair at the Israel Green Movement's Primary Elections. We were so lucky, as it was a beautiful sunny day and lovely to be outside and enjoy the fair. It was a very well-attended event, with a great mixture of people. It was wonderful to speak to so many people from a range of backgrounds, who were all interested in ecological and social change. The SAHA stand was very popular and everyone was eager to hear about the work we do and to taste and buy our products! The atmosphere throughout the day was very upbeat. There was a drumming circle in the middle of the grounds and a great mixture of music being played. Avi Levi the director of Green Action was so inspired he started dancing and managed to encourage others to join him!
We spoke to many people who were interested in making community partnerships with SAHA and also suggested other fairs for us to attend. So hopefully we will be attending many more events like this. For those of you who are interested in attending a fair check out our upcoming events. SAHA will have a stand at Hanuka Fairs in Tel Aviv at: Seminat Hakibutzim on Sunday 21/12/09 and Thursday 23/12/08 from 11am - 3pm, and at Kiryat Atidim on Thursday 23/12/08 from 9am - 5pm.
We would love to see you there!
 
What's New
New Community: Bridge Over the Wadi In September 2004, the first Jewish/Arab school located in an Arab village was created. In the village of Kfar Kara in the Wadi Ara region Jewish and Arab parents worked together with Hand in Hand to create the Bridge Over the Wadi school. As one they lobbied the Ministry of Education and finally they received the governments stamp of approval, needed to set up the school, bringing Jewish and Arab children from all over the Wadi Ara region closer together through the use of unsegregated education.
 In order for this school to run and to be available to all of those interested in attending financial support is required. The school has received support from a range of outside bodies and independent contributors. A group of Arab and Jewish mothers, grandmothers and aunts joined together to help subsidise the school. Their idea was to make and sell reusable bags. They started to sell these beautiful bags to friends and family and displayed a few to sell in a local fair when they were promoting the school.
This is where they met a Green Action representative, who saw the bags and recognised their potential. A connection was then made and together, with the group of women, we designed a Saha Reusable bag, which we now sell as a single unit or in our gift packages to carry the other products. All the profits go to the Bridge Over the Wadi School.
New Products
Organic Fruit JamSweet home made jam from seasonal, organically grown fresh fruits. Made with love by Shir Tal, a member of the the Communal Kitchen in Jerusalem, she simply boils the fruit with sugar, and that's it - no preservatives or chemicals are added in the process.
Simple and delicious, spread the jam on bread or just eat it with a spoon. Taste Israel's fine fruits all year round.
Reusable Bags
 Our reusable bags are lovingly sewed by Arab and Jewish mothers, grandmothers and aunts who donated their time and talents. All the women are part of the community of the Arab-Jewish school "Hand in Hand - Bridge Over the Wadi" in Kfar Kara, Israel.
The idea to the create the reusable bags is based on their love of the environment and faith that we are all part of a human tapestry. They believe we can fuel and effect change, uniting and connecting people, as well as people and nature, for a better world, Bridge Over the Wadi.
New recipe: Grape Molasses Vinagrette Serve over a mixed green salad. 
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Vinegar
- 2/3 cup Saha Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbls Saha Grape Molasses (Dibbes)
- 1 tbls whole grain Mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a closed jar
- Shake the ingredients to mix,
- Serve as a dressing to a green salad
Interview with Sharon Rose Goldberg: New Green Action Strategic Partnerships Coordinator
Tell me about yourself, how did you become interested in working in a fair trade organization?
My background is in US foreign policy with a focus on the Middle East, so fair trade was never my main focus academically or professionally. But I had learned about fair trade in college and thought it was a really important thing, and I began buying fair trade products in my personal life. I appreciated the connection fair trade had to international relations and foreign policy, but at the time there weren't any imports to the US of fair trade goods from the Middle East, so once again, my involvement with fair trade was of a strictly personal nature.
When I got to Israel and heard about the fair trade project run by Green Action and other coalition partners, I was instantly excited. I really believe in the concept of local fair trade that works to reduce the economic inequities between people living in the same geographical area instead of working as a trading relationship between a rich Western nation and a poor country in the Global South. It seemed like a great way to tie together the complex Israeli-Palestinian politics with issues of social, economic, environmental, and trade justice.
Why did you decide to come and work in Israel?
Well, as I said before, my background is in Middle East politics and history, and I worked previously in Washington DC for an organization that promots a pro-peace agenda in Israel-Palestine issues. And although I'd lived in Israel before, I felt disconnected - I was sitting comfortably in the States and analyzing the politices through all the filters that go along with that position. So I decided that the best way I can work for justice in Israel and Palestine is to actually be here on the ground and get a clearer perspective, and at the same time hopefully give a meaningful contribution to the social justice movement here.
Describe the program you came with.
I was fortunate enough to be named a New Israel Fund Social Justice Fellow, and through my fellowship I was placed with Green Action and the fair trade project. The New Israel Fund and SHATIL give millions of dollars in direct grants and capacity building support to organizations working for progressive social change in Israel. The Social Justice Fellowship is a program which provides five young professionals from the US with an opportunity to work for an Israeli NGO for ten months, as well as an enrichment program in leadership and community development.
What is the most interesting part of your job?
My job at Green Action is Strategic Partnerships Coordinator, which basically means that I look for ways Green Action and the SAHA fair trade project can join forces with other organizations within Israel and Palestine and worldwide. The best part has been starting SAHBEK, a program which forms partnerships with community organizations and schools to sell fair trade products and spread the fair trade movement to people who wouldn't have heard of us otherwise, and at the same time provide the organizational partner with a new and sustainable funding stream.
Describe some of the challenges that you face?
I think the biggest challenge all of us working in fair trade face is convincing consumers that they should care enough about worker exploitation and economic justice enough to change their buying habits and, in some cases, even pay more for goods they already buy. Because our project focuses on local fair trade, the faces behind the products are much closer to home geographically, but sometimes seem just as faraway because of the large socioeconomic gaps that exist in Israeli and Palestinian societies.
Coming Soon!
Sahbek: Community Supported Fair Trade
We are very excited to introduce SAHBEK, Community Supported Fair Trade (and "your friend" in Arabic), a new joint program from SAHA/Green Action and community nonprofits and schools. Our nonprofit partners come together with SAHA to help grow the fair trade movement in Israel and Palestine and, at the same time, provide a new, sustainable stream of financial support for their organization.
The money you pay for purchases through SAHBEK goes exactly where you want it: to the farmer who produced the oil; to SAHA, your local fair trade distributor, and up to 30% to the organizations promoting the kind of society you want for yourself and your family. Any you'll pay about the same or less than you would in the store.
If you work with a nonprofit or school interested in the SAHBEK program, please contact Sharon: sharon@fairtrade.org.il
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