A hard fruit to pick

One of the century-old trees in Marda, known as ’Roman trees’ as they are believed to date back to Roman times

Photo: Palestine Monitor

The road to Salfit swings through one of the most breath-taking stretches of rural Palestine. Olive trees shape the landscape here and, considering their size, have been doing so for centuries. Deeply rooted in the dry and rocky soil, the tree’s knarled appearance reveals its persistence. It’s obvious why this tree is so strongly connected with Palestine and its people.

Harvesting the olives: a family business

Photo: Palestine Monitor

A short break

Photo: Palestine Monitor

Rani’s whole family is present for the harvest. The youngest children lounge around, a cradle rests in the shadow. A posse of sons, fathers, nephews and uncles are harvesting the trees down to their last olives. Further along the grove, the women are doing the same. The children prefer their own harvesting method, slapping off the olives from the branches with sticks. Nets are laid on the ground to catch the olives. An elderly man tells me he lived in Venezuela for a long time. “Hugo Chavez. A good man.” A donkey takes refuge in the shade. Luckily for him, the olives are brought to the press by truck. So the beast only has to carry the maklube (a dish with rice, chicken and vegetables, served upside down) the coffee, tea, sweets, and everything else needed for these important family moments in Palestine.

Olives are vital to the rural Palestinian economy

Photo: Palestine Monitor

Seeking refuge from the sun

Photo: Palestine Monitor

The majority of the olives are used for oil, except the bulky green ones. Because olives fresh from the tree are too bitter to eat, farmers cut the fruit slightly, then store them in bottles or pots, drenched in a mixture of water and salt or vinegar. After three or four months away from the sunlight, fermentation has done its work. Then the olives are ready to be dished up. Meanwhile, inedible olives are taken to one of the many local oil presses, where they are ground into a thick paste which is filtered in order to extract the healthy green oil.

Olives are stored out of the sun before being taken to the local press

Photo: Palestine Monitor

Rani and his family are not alone in the grove. Three British women are working alongside them, trying not to melt in the burning Mediterranean sun. These are members of one of the volunteer delegations who come to Palestine for the olive harvest. Several organisations facilitate their trip, like the British NGO Zaytoun (Olive), which is active here in Salfit. Palestine has plenty of locals to harvest the olives, but the presence of internationals lowers the risk of violence from settlers, or harassment by the Israeli military. These volunteers are here to observe, and negotiate if necessary.

“This year is OK,” says Rani, “but in previous years we could not harvest our zaytoun.” An IDF jeep driving through the family grove is the only incident today. But if Palestinian farmers live close to an Israeli road, or a settlement, harvesting can become a nasty business. It’s estimated around 60% of the annual yield is lost because farmers either can’t access their olives, or local markets.

British NGO’s like Zaytoun (Olive) recruit volunteers to assist during the olive harvest

Photo: Palestine Monitor

This grove on the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem was destroyed for so-called security reasons

Photo: Palestine Monitor

But things can be even grimmer for some farmers. Israeli settlements, the Wall and other military infrastructures have engulfed much Palestinian farmland, and farmers are frequently denied permits to access their own land. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, by the end of 2006 around half a million Palestinian olive trees had been uprooted by the Israeli military for security reasons, such as their proximity to Israeli roads, checkpoints or closures. But despite the burdens of the occupation, Palestine’s farmers continue cultivating olives. By doing this, they’re not only sustaining the local economy, but continuing their own resistance to the occupation of their land.

Keeping Palestine alive

Photo: Palestine Monitor