A F.A.S.T. food market

May 27, 2008

Gifted organic olive oil and za’atar from Ein Hud, an unrecognised village in Israel

Sustainability issues aren’t only about green, sometimes they’re even more fundamental than that. Food and food systems are an integral part of that story because food and agricultural policy is commonly used for strategic purposes. Malkit Shoshan is an Israeli architect and the founder/director of F.A.S.T. (Foundation of A Seamless Territory) dedicated to exposing the global abuses of ideological planning, as found in Israel’s unrecognised villages like Ein Hud and in offering alternative solutions.

In June 2004 F.A.S.T. held an international architecture competition for a masterplan for the village of Ein Hud and will be opening it’s cultural centre with festivities this September 2008. Shoshan asked me if I would investigate the possibility of initiating a farmers’ market in Ein Hud and to see about developing some artisanal products to sell in it. The market would ostensibly sell local agricultural products like olive oil, herbs, medicinal herbs, honey and dates, and would give a welcome boost to the local economy. To entice me Malkit gave me a sample of Ein Hud’s raw product line, za’atar (the quintessential Arab condiment mixture of marjoram, sumac, sesame seeds, and salt), fruity olive oil and melouchiya (a dried herb concoction that I’m still figuring out how to use).

Vernacular packaging of local products from Ein Hud

From F.A.S.T. “The story of Ein Hud represents the history of the State of Israel, as an embodiment of two parallel societies, two parallel planning systems, one building, the other destroying. Ein Hod – Ein Hud is the story of two villages, each representing a different reality and completely opposite living conditions. The story of Ein Hud, south of Haifa, is a typical example of the complex reality of ideological planning in Israel and how such planning contributes to the Israeli-Palestinian tragedy.”

• Further reading:
  F.A.S.T. (Foundation of A Seamless Territory)

  The Ein Hud Project

  Occupied Olive Tree Territories - Culiblog weighs in on the politics of agriculture

  A Subjective Atlas of Palestine

  Seamless Israel, visualise a country without unrecognised territories

  Black Goat Law
  Imposed by the government in 1950, the Black Goat Law caused a gradual reduction in the number of goats and in grazing pressure. A further reduction occurred in the 1980s, for socio-economic reasons. In some forest areas, grazing pressure even decreased much below the desirable level for effective elimination of dry herbaceous vegetation and regenerating evergreen shrubs and trees. This changeover from goat to cattle grazing encouraged the expansion and invasion of thorny shrubs formerly eaten by goats (Sarcopoterium spinosa, Calycotome villosa) into the forest’s lower growth and open patches, thus resulting in dangerous levels of accumulated forest fuels.

  Pine trees
  The environmental effects of pine and eucalyptus trees, as described by a botanist: They acidify soil, devour nutrients and leach substances into the soil that repel other plants, such that micro-organisms in plantation land are deficient for years after harvesting.�
  Are all trees green? The spotlight on forestry
  Text: Maria Johns
  When the pioneers (sic) came to Israel at the turn of the century, they found bare hills and mountains and valleys filled with swamps. After years of hard work, disregarding the danger of contracting malaria, they managed to dry out the swamps by opening up the waterways of the rivers and by importing Australian eucalyptus trees, known to have large root systems. The experiment succeeded. The eucalyptus trees acclimated quickly and became instrumental in drying out the swamps.

  Israelis also sought to forest the bare mountains and hills as quickly as possible. The Jewish National Fund started to plant pine trees because they grow quickly. Unfortunately, the trees were not suited to the climate and started to die after a few decades.

  Territoria Magazine - pdf download

  One Land Two Systems Newspaper - download the pdf

  and recipes or pinings on za’atar:

  The Jewish Daily Forward on za’atar. No appropriation here.

  Chow weighs in on za’atar

  Wikipedia is so smart, please add to it.

  On foraging for za’atar - is that now hyssop or marjoram or thyme? The article is about foraging, not about appropriation.

  Za’atar recipe from Recipe Zaar

  Mike Odetalla on Za’atar, a Palestinian American remembers za’atar and carries on the tradition of eating it

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3 Comments »

1. Your work seems so creative and interesting. Kind of a dream job.

   Comment by elarael — June 2, 2008 @ 6:44

2. Was just blog hopping and thought I’d say hello. You have a nice blog here. Love the writing :)

   Comment by Maryann — June 3, 2008 @ 1:54

3. It’s getting time for some allotment-entries, no?

   Comment by Kristi — June 13, 2008 @ 14:09