Reefunah Al-Baladi - Mamdoh Alwahsh

Throughout the Palestinian territories the organic food industry has seen substantial growth as Palestinians have become aware of the health benefits of consuming eco-friendly, pesticide-free naturally grown goods. Despite this, the Palestinian market lacks competitively priced, locally sourced organic goods rather, the market is flooded with high-priced imports which are inaccessible to income conscious consumers. 

Mamdoh Alwahsh, a nutritionist based in the Palestinian town of Beit-Taamur of Bethlehem actively works with his family to create locally sourced, organic foods, he expains, “I realized the importance of providing a more competitively priced alternative for people with food allergies, diabetes and other health issues”. Mamdoh’s business venture Reefunah Al-Baladi currently specializes in organically producing high quality traditional Palestinian foods especially dairy goods such as milk, cheese, yogurt as well as jams, Za’atar and pickled goods. Mamdoh explains that since organic foods are in high demand he currently markets his goods towards supermarkets, bakeries, restaurants and local markets. 

Mamdoh is actively engaged in increasing awareness regarding the importance of locally produced organic goods by participating in trade fairs, as well as through social media. Mamdoh describes that although he has developed his presence in the market and has a steadily growing customer base, he needs to develop an operational base that is capable of meeting the needs of the growing market, he says, “My operations are based in my home with the assistance of my family especially my mother, however, in order to expand my businesses sustainably I need to establish an operational base and produce organic goods at a higher scale”. Despite this, Mamdoh perseveres with his endeavors and continues to participate in trade fairs, meet with local market owners as well reach out to interested individual customers to raise brand awareness and highlight the importance of supporting competitive locally produced organic food products. 

Finally, Mamdoh’s passion for bringing eco-friendly alternatives is his main motivational factor as he strives to usher in a new era of healthy foods throughout Palestine, he says “I will continue to raise awareness about the health benefits of organic foods.” He continues, “It is my passion, my life’s goal to create a business that can effectively meet the dietary needs of Palestinians and inspire a new generation to eat healthy while at the same time supporting Palestinian industry!”