Fair Trade with Palestine - November 6, 2011

West Shore Church has sold Fair Trade coffee and chocolate products since 2003. The success of the fair trade cooperative movement inspired a Palestinian University of Wisconsin graduate to come back to Palestine to see if organic olive oil production and fair trade marketing techniques from the West could be combined into a new job-creating economic engine. Six years the Palestinian Fair Trade Association is one of the important players in the Palestinian economy.

They produce high quality organic olive oil, olive oil soap, and now a variety of sauces and tapenades. On the morning after the Olive Festival, we visited the PFTA offices and hear about their business plan. Americans on the right and the left would love this story, since it's a completely capitalist enterprise that uses a familiar farmer's co-operative structure to negotiate the price with the business owner. The rapid success of their business has been due to grass roots marketing through churches and other fair-trade sales outlets. Just recently, Williams-Sonoma became the first major American retailer to sign a contract with them.

When we come back, we hope to find some additional volunteers that can make it possible to add this premium olive oil and other products to our Fair Trade Sales table.

Location:Palestine