Sustainable Olive Wood Home Decor Collections, from Palestine
This week, I am delighted to share another export-ready product line and material in which Palestine specializes: olive wood. Palestine is home to some of the world’s oldest olive trees, dating back nearly 4,000 years. For millennia, the olive tree has been the pillar of Palestinian agrarian culture and has become a symbol of peace, beauty, and prosperity. Throughout that time, it was also renowned as a beautiful material from which to make durable, resistant, and sustainable products. The craft heritage was first introduced in the 4th Century as a way to provide souvenirs to Byzantine pilgrims and it remains a cornerstone of the artisan industry there today.
Before traveling to Palestine, I was curious about where and how this wood was sourced. I found that there is a local and traceable supply chain as long as you are ordering products that are smaller in size, such as serving utensils, smaller bowls, and cutting boards. More often, the larger pieces of olive wood have been imported so the smaller pieces ensure a more sustainable, made-in-Palestine product.
All in all, olive wood is an excellent material to work with. The branches used for carving these pieces are scraps from the annual pruning, done to maintain the trees and ensure maximum fruit production. The average life span of an olive tree is 500 years, but some are over 1,500 years old which is quite incredible. No wonder they are so special to this country, they don't require much maintenance and always keep giving.
During my travels to Palestine, I met two export-ready producers of olive wood, both excellent potential partners for you with years of export experience:
For ordering info and to see the full catalogs from key exporters, please contact me for an introduction.
Please note that I am not repping these companies but working with UNDP to help promote export-ready collections in Palestine and enhance buyer-vendor linkages to strengthen the sector.