“Zaytoun aims to support marginalised farmers in securing livelihoods through the sale of their olive oil on a Fair-Trade basis “

The Al-zaytouna cooperative annual conference in Palestine. September 2005

“Zaytoun will only work with suppliers who are operating on Fair-Trade principles. However, a problem with fair trade is that the most marginalized farmers are not able to access the international Fair-Trade market due to the lack of infrastructure and training. Zaytoun’s proposed project goals are to open up the Fair-Trade market to farmers who need it most”

Zaytoun is looking for project partners to support an agricultural cooperative initiative in Palestine with the aim of supporting marginalised farmers in securing livelihoods through the sale of their olive oil.

We are working with an agricultural cooperative in Palestine called Al Zaytouna. We have met with the organizers of Al Zaytouna many times and formed a relationship based on work, respect and solidarity.

The aim of Al Zaytouna is to defend the olive tree and market its products. They work across the West Bank and are focused on working on cooperative principles to give the farmers a stronger voice, invest in agricultural infrastructure and access new markets for their olive oil. We have been asked to seek funding and cooperate with three coops in the Tulkarem and Qalqilya regions.

We secured a small grant from War on Want which enabled our Palestinian project partners to carry out a study and series of workshops to identify marginalised farmers in the Tulkarem and Qalqilya regions who will form new coops and work collectively to market their olive oil.

Our project partners have put together a proposal which will be a continuation of this preliminary study and is looking to support 120 farmers through training and agricultural investment.

“Desperate farmers are forced to sell their olive oil well under the production cost, resulting in a financial shortfall. ”

The Al-zaytouna cooperative annual conference in Palestine. September 2005