Helping Palestinian Farmers Create Livlihoods Through Fair Trade

Nasser Abufarha

When Nasser Abufarha, a native Palestinian who had been in the U.S. attending college, returned home to finish his doctoral research in 2003, he became preoccupied by the plight of Palestinian olive oil farmers. Oil prices had plummeted below costs and livelihoods were being hurt from lack of market opportunities. That’s when he shifted his focus from getting his PhD in cultural anthropology to founding the Palestine Fair Trade Association in 2004, working to empower small farmers through education and training. He also launched Canaan Fair Trade, a producing and exporting company that gives the farmers a direct link to the international market.

Abufarha developed the first internationally recognized standard for fair trade olive oil in the region with the belief that it would be a way to empower marginalized Palestinian rural communities caught in conflict. “We are invested in increasing crop yields for farmers, increasing quality so we increase the value return of the products they produce [and] the sustainability of the soil they produce from, and helping them navigate some of the social or political issues that may be limiting their potentials,” Abufarha explains.

Today the organization works with 1,700 farmers and 200 female producers, selling their fair trade products in 17 countries worldwide. Since the establishment of Canaan, the average price of Palestinian olive oil has more than doubled, and in 2008 Canaan Fair Trade broke ground on a new 32,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art olive-processing facility that employees 40 Palestinians and can commercialize the products of 3,000 to 5,000 farmers.

Palestinian woman makes couscous

In addition to supporting farmers from production to social and economic empowerment, Abufarha created programs like self-managed women’s co-ops focusing on products traditionally processed by women like sun-dried tomatoes, za’atar spices, couscous, capers and soap. Participation has increased from 15 to 200 women since 2007, providing income and connection to the community.

“These opportunities bring new avenues for women to enter the workforce and give them the skills to be income generators and engaged and participating citizens at the same time,” he observes. Abufarha has also created Canaan Scholarships, which provide an average of $60,000 per year for 10 full university scholarships to farmers’ children, as well as a microloan program that has formed 10 women-owned cooperatives to date. Factory workers at the plant reap the benefits as well. After 10 years of employment, staff is eligible to apply for a loan to start their own socially responsible business to solve a social problem.