Ramallah - The National Beverage Company Coca-Cola/Cappy (NBC) provided its support to the project of Journey into the History of Palestinian Food Book. The concept of the book, authored by the photographer Osama Al Silwadi, aims at documenting the ancestors’ journey towards the discovery of agriculture and food products since the Stone Age. NBC assisted in completing the book through offering the necessary financial support.
About this support, Mr. Imad al-Hindi, General Manager of the National Beverage Company Coca-Cola/Cappy said that: “documenting the identity of the Palestinian cuisine and food is a moral obligation to protect the cultural heritage, as it contributes to promoting and establishing the legacy of the Palestinian successive generations by protecting our heritage and history”.
“We, in NBC, endeavor to care for creative works, and support and promote young talents, so they can offer more.” Mr. al-Hindi added. He indicated that NBC is proud of all talents discovered and accomplishments achieved by the Palestinian youth, pointing that the Palestinian society is rich with talents and creative people, and all it needs is just orientation, support and mentoring”.
He went on to confirm that “NBC is keen to support creativity in the various cultural fields, especially if related to Palestine heritage and its preservation, such as the photographer Osama Al Salwadi’s book: Journey into the History of Palestinian Food, which is a huge progress and an addition to the Palestinian history.
On his part, photographer Osama Al Salwadi expressed his thanks to NBC and commended its constant quest and endeavor to promote the Palestinian cultural standards and protect the identity of Palestinian heritage.
On his book, Journey into the History of Palestinian Food, Al Salwadi said: “The book is a project aimed at exploring and documenting the Palestinian food development since the recent Stone Age, especially that Palestine had been one of the first regions that started producing foods in that era. During my exploration journey through the history of the Palestine food I referred back to details of cultural life, seasons, traditions, rituals, social and economic regimes and food culture with special focus on the Palestinian food”. He added that the book addresses the various past phases of creating the Palestinian food, including wheat, grapes, olive and palm trees cultivation; and a new inscription of Palestine history from the perspective of agriculture and food.
It is worth mentioning that Osama Al Salwadi is a Palestinian photojournalist, Documenter of Palestinian heritage, visual storyteller and has special interest in the illustrated history of Palestinian people. He started a challenging and risky career in 1991, and went through various traumas, one of which left him paraplegic. Yet, it did not prevent him from keeping on serving and documenting the Palestinian heritage, as he authored more than ten books, including Canaanite Jewelry, The Palestinian Woman (Tender and Creative) and The Wildflowers of Palestine. He received various certificates and awards, such as the Golden Medal for Merit and Excellence from Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, Certificate of Appreciation from the Palestinian Ministry of Culture, in addition to achieving the second place in International Photography Festival in Iraq.
