Ethical Consumer magazine interview with Jo Bird

Jo Bird left her job at the Co-operative Group to set up the Olive Co-op in Manchester in 2003. She talks to us (Ethical Consumer) about tourism, olive oil and how a visit to Palestine changed her life.

Jo Bird first visited Israel/Palestine in 2001. "I thought that I would just go for two weeks and go back to my office job having done my bit for peace" she said. "But what I saw there really blew my mind. It made me realise the things that are important in life and the things that are not." Although she went back to work, she was restless. "After a while, I decided that it was time to put my money where my mouth is and set up the Olive workers' co-operative."

Jo and the other founding members of Olive felt that there would be a great deal of benefit for Palestinian and Israeli people from visitors to the region. There would also be benefit for the visitors themselves because they would learn about the situation there and see what's actually going on. Olive isn't a holiday company, emphasises Jo, but a responsible tourism company. "We don't call it holidays" she explained "because that conjures up images of lying on the beach. It's more like study tours. The customers that come are people who are interested in world politics, Israel/Palestine or Arabic or Jewish culture and they come to find out more. Our tours are about listening and learning rather than about intervening when we're there."

It was a result of listening to Palestinian people that the co-op has begun to branch out into selling fair traded Palestinian goods and, in particular, Palestinian olive oil. "One of the things that people were saying was that trade was really important," she says. The trade in olive oil in particular had gone right down. As well as the direct economic benefit there's also the benefit of raising awareness. It really is a message in a bottle." The products are currently in the process of being certified with the Fair Trade logo. "I think its really important to get that external verification," she says.

Its important, says Jo, to care about what happens in Israel/Palestine. "What happens in that part of the world affects all of us" she says. "It affects the oil trade, climate change, the war on terror, and what kind of world we live in - whether right is right or might is right" she says passionately. "We don't get an accurate representation of what's happening there in the news, so it's important to get underneath the headlines either by visiting the area, by reading about it or by talking to Israeli and Palestinian people for their own perspective. The quest for a just peace or a peace based on justice, and for a multi-cultural society there, is in everybody's interests" she continues.

Olive isn't Jo's first experience of setting up a co-op, as ten years earlier she helped to set up a small independent housing co-op in Manchester. "I think I was influenced by the values of the Woodcraft Folk" she says. "Co-operatives are important because they're inherently fair. There is a principle of equality between the members of the co-operative which leads to a great emphasis on social outcomes as well as financial viability. This means that, for Olive, its just as important how many people we take on tours as its is whether we break even or not."

"The decisions and choices we make as consumers are very important, especially the way the world is developing so that one half of the world consumes while the other half produces", says Jo. "How we behave in that relationship is particularly important...Being on close to minimum wage makes a lot of choices for you," she says of her own shopping choices. "It leads to a lot of recycling, reusing and making the most of the assets I already have." Jo also avoids supermarkets wherever she can. "I can shop at very cheap supermarkets" she says "but I'd rather use the relatively cheap local grocery stores."

"I think that there is a battle between the Blairs and Bushes of the world and the rest of us and its a bit early to say who is going to win that battle" she says. "I do know that on a personal level, engaging in that struggle brings out the best in people" she emphasises. "Everyone is important and what we as individuals choose to do does make a difference. What choices, decision and actions we make as consumers, activists, workers, pension holders, as people who have a faith, or no faith, are all very important."

September/October 2005 issue of Ethical Consumer