palestinian oil and asir

Differences in purity of jojoba oil world-wide and why Palestinian Jojoba Oil production is distinguished by being organic and natural

Jojoba plants grown in plantations in western countries as those in Arizona, California, Argentina, Israel, etc., are all multi-stem bushes and not trees with one or two stems as is the case in Palestine.  Here we begin from the first few years of growth the process of pruning by removing the many stems and side branches allowing one or two stems to develop and grow and we continue the pruning process in the same manner as we do with olive trees.  Thus, upon pruning each year and finally allowing one stem to develop, we obtain jojoba trees which are similar to olive trees.

In this manner, the jojoba seeds (nuts) which ripen usually in August and fall on the ground by themselves are collected easily by hand and are peeled if the shells did not fall off when they fell to the ground.The planting, cultivation and care of jojoba trees at the hands of Palestinians which is mostly grown in the Jenin District of the West Bank is carried out by Palestinians as done with olives.The jojoba seeds used for pressing of the oil are from the same year’s crop which are hand-collected and are free of chemicals.  Repetitive plowing and mechanical weeding and without the use of chemicals is carried out which bury any leftover old seeds from the previous year.

Based on the above, the jojoba seeds which are obtained in the dry-farmed Palestinian lands and that which is obtained in the above-mentioned private jojoba farm in Jordan with clean supplemental irrigation are characterized by being 100% natural and free of toxic chemicals, i.e., 100% organic and clean to the point that the oil extracted from such hand-picked seeds and cold-pressed in an electric screw press and triple-filtered is SO clean that it is edible.  Such oil may be used in frying, salads, and the cooking of foods as was done by the Red Indians.  Professor Said  Assaf and his family have been using this organically produced oil for several years for frying and cooking as there is no adverse health effects from this oil as has been documented in many scientific studies.
It should be emphasized that the repeated yearly pruning of jojoba trees as plowing as carried out in Palestine results in a better quality of jojoba oil from that produced in Israel, the USA and South America from large jojoba plantations owned mostly by American investors.  Israel even uses waste water and treated sewage water in irrigating their jojoba plantations whereas in Palestine only rain is utilized and in Jordan well water is used for the supplemental irrigation needed.  Palestinian production of jojoba seeds which is all done manually and by hand yields organic chemically-free jojoba oil.  But in the above-mentioned industrial countries, the jojoba seeds are collected by vacuuming the naturally ripened fallen seeds in pre-irrigated land with all that it carries from the applied agro-chemicals containing toxic heavy metals and also from the pollutants in the sewage and wastewater used in irrigation as done in Israel.  Furthermore, some of the jojoba seeds which always fall after they are ripe and are collected from the ground by vacuum include old seeds and rotten seeds which have been left on the ground (left-over) from other years as no repetitive plowing and hoeing is done between the trees in the industrial countries to eliminate such bad quality seeds, as performed in Palestine because these western industrial countries use chemicals to eliminate the weeds between the trees.  The Palestinian jojoba seeds and those obtained from the private farm of Professor Said Assaf near the Jordanian International Airport are all shiny and dry, fresh seeds and contain no chemical residues.

Reasons for success in the introduction, production and isolation of jojoba oil produced under the supervision of the Institute ASIR include the following facts

* The transfer of American jojoba oil production technology was geared to be appropriate for adoption and execution by experienced Palestinian farmers in privately owned lands, especially since olive cultivation and production resemble that of jojoba.  Thus, the organic, non-chemical practices used in olive tree cultivation, care, production of the fruits, their pressing and the packing of the oil resemble greatly that of jojoba oil production and were well used under the supervision of ASIR to produce a specialty, distinguished natural pure Palestinian organic jojoba oil.

  • Fortunately, different from other fruit producing trees, jojoba fruits while green or ripe as nuts (seeds) are not tasty and are not desired or eaten by humans or birds and other animals.  The leaves and branches are also not desired by animals once they establish a large canopy of growth because all these parts contain the appetite depressant Simmondisine.
  • For reassurance and clarification, it should be noted that the appetite depressant and suppressant Simmondsine does not exist in the jojoba oil but rather only in the by-product jojoba cake residue which is obtained after pressing of the seeds.

The main characteristics of Palestinian Jojoba Oil when used ‘as-is’, and the various methods of using it:

To use jojoba oil, put a few drops of oil in the palm of your hand and rub your hands together.  Apply to any place on your skin or hair and the jojoba oil will be absorbed within seconds.

  • Jojoba oil as obtained in Palestine is a naturally pure oil that may be used ‘as-is’  – as if it is a liquid cream without any refining or industrial treatments.
  • Jojoba oil penetrates rapidly into the skin without leaving any trace after rubbing it for a few seconds, i.e., it is not oily.
  • Jojoba oil’s rapid penetration into the skin and its light golden color make it attractive for use in cosmetics.
  • Jojoba oil has no odor and can accept any perfumic material.
  • Jojoba oil is not greasy because it is chemically a liquid wax, and not an oil.
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