This video from Human Rights Watch clearly sets out the damage done to the Palestinian economy by businesses operating in, financing, servicing, or trading with Israeli settlements. As Palestinian farmers look across a barbed wire barrier to fertile lands they once farmed, and a Palestinian quarry owner tells us that his equipment was confiscated 3 times, Israeli settlers and their businesses benefit from tax breaks. 

Welcome to our dressed-up duo of grains! Freekeh, a smoky spring wheat, and maftoul, a nutty large-grain kind of couscous, have had a makeover and the smart new boxes are hitting UK shop shelves now! 

We thought these products deserved more showing-off than our clear packets offered, but we've kept a window on the box so that customers can see the colour and texture of the grains. The box is sturdy as well as striking - it would make a lovely gift as part of a hamper of Palestinian products for a friend!

Find a stockist here, and more information about freekeh and maftoul on our products page. For recipes check out our page, or let us know your favourite way to cook these grains. 

 

Farmers in Palestine's Jordan Valley, like Mamoun Derra, find their livelhoods and land frequently stolen by the Israeli army and the expansion of illegal settlements in the area. Homes are destroyed, agricultural pools bulldozed and land confiscated for military drills which damage the fertile soil and ruin harvests. 
The regions' 58,000 Palestinian residents live on approximately 6% of the land, while 12,000 settlers have direct access to 50% of the land and have indirect access to another 39%. While the Jordan Valley contains a third of the West Bank's underground water resources, Israeli settlers are allocated four times more water from the aquifer than Palestinians who must often pay high prices for extra water to be trucked in to irrigate their trees. 

Over 500 internal checkpoints and barriers impede Palestinian movement inside the West Bank, and Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley are essentially closed off from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, affec...