Soraya Hosni is a French-Tunisian social entrepreneur, olive oil sommelier, farmer and environmental anthropologist. She speaks 8 languages and is as comfortable talking with North African olive farmers as she is with global leaders. Her innovative work to address systemic challenges and inequities in the olive oil supply chain led her to develop cultural, technical and economic solutions that benefit both farmers and the earth they farm on. Tunisia is one of the world’s largest producers of olive oil, yet most of it gets mixed with oil from Spain and other countries and sold under labels with an Italian sounding name. Olive trees in Tunisia are hundreds and sometimes thousands of years old, drought resistant, and typically raised free of chemicals. Soraya shares about the many creative ways she has worked to uplift Tunisian olive oil to help return profits to farmers and preserve these heritage farming practices. 

As with most social entrepreneurs, Soraya’s creativity and projects surpass the confines of one sector and one conversation. To learn more about the full breadth of her work check out The New Medina, a cultural heritage center she founded in Tunisia and @thenewmedina on Instagram. Clever Harvest is the agriculture tech company and system she started to help farmers coordinate their harvest, milling, and aggregation. Visit our website for photos and more links to her amazing work and many past shows at www.thetableunderground.com. 

The Table Underground airs on WPKN community radio, 89.5fm in Bridgeport, CT, and by podcast any where and any time. Our theme song is by the Passion Hifi.