Fair Edinburgh, Fair Hadeel

Lynda Brown - 07 December 2011

My best friend, who lives in Edinburgh, recently told me about a unique Fair Trade shop there, Hadeel. Hadeel exclusively sell crafts, ethnic textiles, and food products from Palestinian social enterprises in the West bank, Gaza and the Lebanon, as well as one in Galilee and in the Negev. As Joanna Blythman so graphically documented in the Guardian a couple of years ago (see extract below, and well worth reading ), trying to produce anything in occupied territory is challenging to say the least, so we are very fortunate to be able to buy them here.

Their food products could not be more traditional: organic almonds from the Jenin area; organic maftoul (hand rolled cous cous); Medjoul dates from the Jordan Valley; spice mix of the moment, Za-atar from Jericho; and the wonderful Zaytoun extra virgin olive oil, which rates up there with the best. For anyone living in central Edinburgh, Hadeel are offering free delivery of a 5 litre can (Fair trade £62; organic £76) , plus anything else you want. The offer closes on Dec 16th, so there's still lots of time. And though they only have one shop in the St Andrew's and St George's West Church, Shandwick Place (tel: 0131 225 1922), there's a team of local representatives up and down the country who sell Hadeel's products - see the website for your nearest .For everyone else , there's the online shop.

Hadeel is Arabic for the cooing of a dove. Click on the suppliers list on their website, and you may find , like me, that sentiment has never had a more profound meaning. And yes,of course, there are many inspirational Fair Trade initiatives. It's just that right now, especially at this time, this is the one that's on the money for me.

Farming in Palestine, Joanna Blythman

This is an extract from an article that first appeared in The Guardian in September 2009. The full article is available at www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/13/farming-in-palestine 

"Palestine typically features in the headlines in the context of upheaval and violence, but in the West Bank it remains a productive and fertile farming region. Palestine is the biblical Canaan, a fabled land of milk and honey with a long tradition of artisan farming, so organic production is a snug fit for the Palestinian farmer. The foods they now export include whole black and green olives, pickled in the national tradition with oil, sea salt and lemon, or tree-ripened then salted and smothered in oil; sun-dried tomatoes and capers in oil; velvety tahini; particularly large almonds that are much sought after by Italian chocolatiers; aromatic honey; and several varieties of luscious dates like the hayani, barhee and medjool. UK importers are also bringing in za'atar, Palestine's breakfast speciality, a unique blend of crushed wild marjoram, toasted sesame seeds, sea salt and sharp sumac berries that is traditionally mixed with oil and served with freshly baked flatbreads.

In the desert-like landscape of Jericho I see another demonstration of the resilience and resourcefulness of the Palestinian people, most especially its women. With the help of the go-ahead Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee, a co-op of 40 women has taken over a disused date warehouse to make maftoul. Somewhere between couscous and cracked wheat in texture, maftoul is a hand-rolled grain, traditionally eaten at special occasions, which takes a whole day to make from scratch. Women sit cross-legged on the floor rubbing a mixture of local white and wholemeal organic wheat flour and salty water together with their fingers until it forms small particles, steam it, then sun-dry it in a greenhouse in a fierce 60°C heat. The technique is ancient and highly skilled "

Lynda is an award-winning food writer and broadcaster, and keen advocate for organic living. She is author of several food books over the last twenty years including Planet Organic: Organic Living, The Cook's Garden, and The Modern Cook's Handbook, as well as writing The Preserving Book that was published in 2010 in association with the Soil Association. Lynda is an expert on food and nutrition and a seasoned broadcaster, regularly speaking on food and farming both on the radio and television.

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