Canaan Fair Trade
Canaan Fair Trade is a supplier of bulk as well as finished and packaged olive oil and other goods to Europe, North America and the Middle East. It was founded in 2004 by Palestinian-American Nasser Abufarha and is based in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Canaan's products - including organic fair trade olive oil, honey, tahini, couscous, and za'atar - are produced by over 1,700 farmers in the West Bank organized in informal cooperatives and represented by the Palestine Fair Trade Association.
Canaan Fair Trade also supplies 90% of the organic olive oil used by the U.S. company Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap.
The organization has a scholarship program for the children of its farmers, awarding 4-year full-tuition scholarships to West Bank universities to four students each year.
In 2008, Canaan Fair Trade began construction of a factory and processing facility on of land the near the village of Burqin, west of Jenin. The facility is designed to become both the organization's headquarters, as well as a tourist attraction, and will offer guided tours as well as a boutique selling fair trade products. It is expected to be completed in December 2008.
