The People Behind the Olive Oil

The People Behind Every Drop

Every bottle of Olive Odyssey olive oil begins in the hands of a farmer.
 From the valleys of Jenin to the hills of Burin and the terraces of Nazareth, these are the people who carry centuries of craft and care.
 Their groves are their legacy — and their stories are what make our oils truly extraordinary.

Shireen Najjar

From Burin, Nablus | Farmer & Producer

Shireen Najjar is the heart of Burin’s hills — one of the few female olive oil producers in Palestine, and a voice of both heritage and innovation. Together with her husband, who works as a quality assurance manager in the industry, she oversees the entire journey from tree to bottle.

Her approach is both precise and poetic. Each variety she grows, she describes in culinary terms — how its taste changes with the soil, the rain, and the season. For Shireen, making olive oil isn’t just production; it’s storytelling through flavor.

In her grove, tradition and modern craft meet. Every olive is hand-picked, rain-fed, and pressed within hours of harvest — a reflection of her belief that the land deserves both respect and refinement.

Farming Practices:

Organic methods | Hand-picked | Rain-fed | Cold-pressed in steel drums

Abed Al-Rahman Oudi

From Bazariya, Nablus | Farmer & Producer

In the village of Bazariya, Abed Al-Rahman Oudi has built a legacy around one of the few remaining traditional millstone presses in Palestine. His family’s production center welcomes farmers from nearby villages who come to press their olives the old way — with stone, patience, and heart.

Abed’s story is one of devotion to the craft. He started with the few trees his family owned and transformed his passion into a community press that preserves a method nearly lost to time. His olive oil captures that spirit — fruity, tangy, and full of the land’s character.

Farming Practices:

Organic methods | Traditional millstones | Hand-picked | Rain-fed

Mustafa Turabi

From Sarra, Nablus | Engineer & Olive Oil Producer

Mustafa Turabi is known across Palestine as one of the country’s master engineers of olive oil production. Over the years, he has helped build and calibrate more than fifty production centers — all while running his own family press in Sarra, near Nablus.

He works alongside his sons, turning their facility into a place where farmers come not just to produce olive oil, but to learn. Mustafa’s oils reflect precision and pride — balanced, fruity, and peppery — the result of expertise built from both science and soul.

Farming Practices:

Organic methods | Rain-fed | Hand-picked | Cold-pressed in steel drums

Nassar Darawshi

From Nazareth / Iksal | Farmer & Producer

In the hills near Nazareth, Nassar Darawshi runs one of the most respected family presses in northern Palestine. A visionary farmer and craftsman, he experiments with rare olive varieties — from the ancient Suri to the imported Picual and Coratina — giving each bottle its own voice.

His land is a living archive of taste and history. Every season, he and his team hand-harvest the fruit, cold-press it in steel drums, and bottle oils that express Nazareth’s generous earth — rich, complex, and full-bodied.

Farming Practices:

Organic methods | Rain-fed | Hand-picked | Cold-pressed in steel drums

Mohammad Zein Al-Dein

From Jenin / Al-Yamun | Farmer & Producer

In Jenin’s wide valleys, Mohammad Zein Al-Dein continues a legacy that has lasted four generations. His family’s land and production center have been passed from father to son — each one learning the rhythm of the harvest, the scent of ripe olives, and the patience it takes to create true olive oil.

Working with his brothers and cousins, Mohammad oversees a grove that feels timeless. His Rumi olives — bold, green, and peppery — are pressed within hours, producing an oil that reflects Jenin’s generosity and heritage.

Farming Practices:

Organic methods | Rain-fed | Hand-picked | Cold-pressed in steel drums

Basheer Al-Sous

From Beit Jala | Farmer & Producer

At the southern edge of Palestine’s olive belt, in the terraced hills of Beit Jala, Basheer Al-Sous tends groves that have been in his family for more than four generations. Each season he gathers the fruit from his rain-fed trees and presses them within hours, producing an oil defined by its buttery harmony and quiet depth.

Basheer sees olive farming as an inheritance of both craft and character. His knowledge blends traditional hand-picking and modern steel-drum pressing—an approach that honors the past while perfecting the present. The result is an unmistakably smooth, nutty olive oil that captures Beit Jala’s gentle climate and long history of cultivation.

Farming Practices:

Organic methods | Rain-fed | Hand-picked | Cold-pressed in steel drums