Economic Help for Palestinian Women Farmers Photo Gallery

Revitalizing Olive Oil Farming in the West Bank

A source of national pride, the olive industry constitutes 15% of income generated by the agricultural sector in Palestine. There are 3,000 olive farms with nearly 66,000 olive tress in the project location in Asira Al-Shamaliya alone, an area north of Nablus in the West Bank.

Sustainable Practices by West Bank Women Farmers

Project experts will train 750 Palestinian women farmers in proper cultivation techniques for the care of live trees, pruning, fertilizing and ploughing.

Olive Oil Potential for Women's Livelihoods

35% of Palestinian women and their families work as olive pickers and in the transport of olives to presses that process olive oil and related products. Palestinians have lost their jobs in Israel and are coming back to the land as a major economic refuge.

Sorting Olives -- A Traditional Women's Work

Palestinian women and their families have found substinence income in the agricultural sector in the West Bank, including olive farming. At issue is sustaining this traditional activity & its transformation into an attractive, profitable, competitive industry.

Best Practices for Pressing Olives

NEF's comprehensive program provides specific guidelines for rehabilitating olive oil presses. Two containers per press, a stainless steel container can hold up to 2,700 liters of olive oil and guards against high acidity, maintaining quality and taste for extended periods. NEF would like to reach an additional 10 presses, out of the total 17 in the area.

Technical Oversight for Quality Olive Oil

To raise both quantity & quality, technical advisors monitor olive oil production throughout the entire process- from tending, pruning & fertilizing olive trees; to proper picking & transportation of olives; as well as ensuring high quality olive presses and proper storage techniques.

The Project's Aim- Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The finale to this multifaceted project--a premier bottle of high quality extra virgin olive oil that can be marketed both locally and internationally, linking West Bank farmers with as many buyers as possible & at the best deal.