Cooperatives


 

ImageCurrently the PFTA works with 1,700 farmers in 39 olive oil producing spread throughout the West Bank.  Among these cooperatives, there are 20 organic cooperatives with 375 members in the districts of Jenin and Nablus that produce organic olive oil and almonds.  PFTA also includes four women's cooperatives that produce sun-dried couscous, and za’atar, one women's cooperative that produces sun-dried tomatoes, and two women's cooperatives that produce olive oil soaps. All raw materials used in the production of the women's cooperatives are supplied by member farmers in PFTA’s farmers’ cooperatives. PFTA also has three organic wild collection cooperatives that produce Thyme (Za’atar), Capers, and Summac. All three wild collections areas are managed under strict organic regulations to insure plant sustainability and all three areas are included in the organic certification program. In total, the PFTA currently has 46 producing cooperatives.
 

PFTA organizes and builds producing cooperatives as part of its fair trade development and promotion program. PFTA also has a procedure in place to pre-qualify and accept existing producing cooperatives into PFTA’s membership and the Palestine Fair Trade Program. PFTA has established procedures to pre-qualify traders, exporters, companies, and organizations for PFTA membership and integration into the fair trade process. Exporters and Imageprocessors who are accepted as PFTA members enter into a contract membership with PFTA that ensures full implementation and respect of Fair Trade guidelines and product specific guidelines and pricing when trading with PFTA’s producers groups and cooperatives. Exporters' and processors' memberships are renewed annually, based on review of fair trade performance. Exporters are also expected to return portions of their profits to the producer groups that supply their raw materials and other portions to support PFTA’s budget. Currently, PFTA has one fair trade exporting member.