Harvesting Sweet Sustainability

Every August, Tell, otherwise known as “the village of the blessed fruit and the fruit of kings”, proves itself worthy of its name. This year, its eighth annual National Fig Festival was celebrated under the patronage of Prime Minister Rami Hamdalla at Mohammed Bin Rashid School, attracting hundreds of visitors to its open-air fig markets and exhibitions of local crafts. But figs play the central role, as Tell produces roughly 500 tons of the sweet purple fruit each year.

And although this festival lasts only a single day, its organizers have longer-term aims: to honor Palestine’s agricultural traditions, and to raise environmental awareness among farmers, helping them revive agriculture lands, produce quality fruit using fewer pesticides, and plant tens of thousands of fig saplings. Organizers are also working to provide marketing solutions to reduce the current surplus of agricultural commodities on the market by facilitating the export of dried figs and other fruit to Europe.

For more info – Fig Festival