Sindyanna of Galilee is a women-led non-profit that operates in the Arab population of northern Israel and in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. We produce award-winning fair trade organic olive oil, za'atar spice mixes, carob syrup, honey, olive oil soaps and baskets woven using traditional methods.
We strive to strengthen the economy of the Arab-Palestinian population in general and to enhance the empowerment of Arab women in particular. Our organization is a unique Arab-Jewish cooperation which shows that a solution to the Middle East conflict begins with creating real economic opportunities.
BIOL Silver Medal to Sindyanna's Organic Oil
With great pleasure we inform you that the organic olive oil of Sindyanna of Galilee has been evaluated both in terms of chemistry and sensory panel by the territorial and international jury of BIOL 2012, the international competition held on March from 15 to 17 in Puglia, Italy. This judgment of BIOL jury has allowed Sindyanna to obtain a recognition of high quality ''SILVER MEDAL''. read more on BIOL prize...
The Roha Project's Second Anniversary
A few days ago we celebrated the Roha organic olive plantation's second birthday. On Land Day, more than 100 friends of Sindyanna came to Wadi Ara's fertile lands, Arabs and Jews including Ma'an agricultural workers from the surrounding villages, students, youth for social change, members of Beit Haam from Tel Aviv and more.
Everyone pitched in, tilled and weeded the ground, planted and trimmed, and had a great meal after all their hard work. Sindyanna of Galilee promotes Arab agriculture and creates jobs for Arab women - we don't just talk about it, we do it!
First Shipment of Organic Za'atar from Tubas
This week Sindyanna received its first shipment of organic Za'atar leaves from the village of Tubas, which will be added to our excellent Za'atar mix. The producers are a group of 25 women from the Tubas district in the Palestinian West Bank, who have been working since November 2009 on an Organic Agriculture project under the auspices of NICCOD (Nippon International Cooperation for Community Development). Read more about the project.
Sindyanna Receives 5 Leaf ''Fair For Life'' Rating
Sindyanna and its award-winning olive oil received the highest possible ''Fair For Life'' performance rating of five leaves (stars) from the Institute for Marketecology (IMO). From the report's evaluation of social impact:
''Sindyanna of Galilee is a not-for-profit organisation with strong social and political commitments. It aims to improve the working conditions and livelihoods of Arab women in the region, who are a clearly marginalised group wihin the society. On the political level, Sindyanna of Galilee is committed to inter-religious understanding by contracting Muslim, Jewish and Christian women. Manifestations are organised. Ssindyanna of Galilee organises specific trainings to empower its workers, such as trainings on basket weaving. The atmoshpere at the working place is very friendly and warm and so is the relationship between the management and the workers.
Sindyanna of Galilee shows its commitment to Fair Trade by using the Fair Trade Premium entirely for social projects such as capacity-building of women in new skulls, organising meetings with women cooperatives and supporting Arabic artists.''
Sindyanna's page on the Fair For Life web site has all the details and the certificate can be viewed here.
International Women's Day 2012 Protest March
On March 8th, International Women's Day, Sindyanna joined several other social organizations in demanding social justice and fair trade for all. The sign below reads ''Fighting Together'' (more photos on the right.)
Interview With Hadas Lahav and Wafa Tayara
Hadas Lahav of Sindyanna and Wafa Tayara of Ma'an were interviewed by Hagit Evron on 103FM radio last week. Ahead of International Women's Day, they talked about their work improving working conditions for Arab women. Listen to the interview (in Hebrew).
World Fair Trade Day is Approaching
We will celebrate World Fair Trade Day on 12th May. By celebrating World Fair Trade Day we will be celebrating all the stakeholders and supporters that make Fair Trade possible. But there is still a long way to go until World Fair Trade Day is recognized globally as THE day to celebrate small producers trading out of poverty through Fair Trade.
A Visit From Our Partners in Tubas
On February 23, our visitor center hosted a group from the Holy Tree Agricultural Cooperative located in the village of Tubas in the West Bank. Sindyanna has been buying their excellent organically-grown olive oil and now they had to chance to visit us in Kufr Manda. Over a wonderful lunch we discussed the best ways to produce olive oil and grow olive trees, introduced our fair trade and social projects, and then showed them our factory in Kufr Kana. The NICCO organization from Japan has funded and accompanied the cooperative since its founding.
Introducing Our New Japanese Partners
Asako and Seiichiro Ito's online store Kagoamidori (weaver bird in Japanese) sells traditional baskets from around the world. They have now added to their site Sindyanna's handmade baskets, which they also sell at galleries and open air events. Read more on our Partners page.
New: Tokyo-Kufr Manda – A Love Story in a Basket
Winner of the Prestige Gold Medal and Best Israeli Barnea Award at the TerraOlivo 2011 challenge
The international TerraOlivo olive oil challenge took place in Jerusalem on 17-18 May 2011. Sindyanna of Galilee's olive oil, the only fair-trade organic olive oil in the competition, won the Prestige Gold Medal, as well as a special award as the Best Israeli Barnea Strain. This is the second time that Sindyanna's fair-trade olive oil has won this prestigious award (awards list). Liberomondo, our Italian partners, wrote about our awards on their web site.
