Organic: Phase Two
Having met the standards for organic certification, Abufarha says his focus is
now on the next phase, or what he calls “real” organic farming. This phase in-
cludes researching and incorporating organic methods to increase soil fertility,
combat disease, improve yields and enhance moisture retention. “We have had
to teach our farmers that organic is not just about doing things the traditional
way and certifying it,” he says. “It is about continually looking for creative, natu-
ral ways to increase yields and deal with other issues. Yes, increasing yield is im-
portant, but we want to refute the idea that conventional farming is the best
way to do this.”
For example, because rainfall is scarce and access to water is very limited
due to the occupation, one of PFTA’s top projects is looking at limestone as a
way to keep water in the soil. Farm research has also shown that planting
legumes may add a nutrient to the soil that helps combat a common fungus
found in the region.
Empowering Palestinian
Women
Another issue that was really important to Abufarha was to make sure that
women were represented in the PFTA.
All of the representatives in the farming co-ops were men, so in 2006, Abufarha started creating women’s co-ops
and this year began working with the
NGO World Vision to expand this effort. The women’s co-ops focus on producing items that are traditionally
produced by women, such as sun-dried
tomatoes, hand-rolled “maftoul” (
Palestinian couscous) and spice mixes.
Building a Fair Supply Chain From the Ground Up:
Dr. Bronner’s Fair Trade, Organic Sourcing Model
In 2005, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps
made a bold commitment to convert at least 95 percent of its agricultural (nonalkali/nonwater
ingredients) to fair trade. “We have
always believed that the organic
philosophy includes ensuring that
farmers earn a fair living,” says
Dr. Bronner’s new
food-grade organic,
fair trade coconut
products.
Coconut oil. Some projects required more hands-on involvement than oth-
ers. When Dr. Bronner’s started searching for a co-op to source fair trade, or-
ganic coconut oil from, they didn’t
find anything that was a good fit, so the
company built Serendipol, a fair trade
coconut oil project in Sri Lanka, from
the ground up. As 75 percent owners,
Dr. Bronner’s was involved at a hands-
on level and set up the Internal Con-
trol System for certification, including
seven field officers who work with over
500 farmers and 9,000 acres. Commu-
nity projects from the fair trade premi-
ums have ranged
from composting
projects to pro-
viding equipment
for emergency
rooms and toilets
for schools. Re-
cently, Dr. Bron-
ner’s expanded
into the food cat-
egory with the launch of its new fair
trade, organic coconut oil, and
Serendipol plans to increase yields
enough to provide coconut oil to other
like-minded processors as well.
David Bronner, president. “When
the USDA National Organic Program was created, they decided not
to include fair trade as a part of the
standard, but that didn’t change
the beliefs for many in the organic movement.”
PHOTO: KATIE SCHULER
Although the will was there, the organic and fair trade certified suppliers
needed were nowhere to be found. So Dr. Bronner’s decided to develop its
own organic, fair trade supply chain. For the first major ingredient, olive oil,
they were lucky enough to find one existing operation—Canaan Fair Trade in
Palestine—that just needed the certification and some additional support to
grow. Dr. Bronner’s covered Canaan’s organic and fair trade certification costs
for the first three years and training for the Palestinian farmers, and it sponsored development grant applications to provide funds for needed equipment.
To receive grants like those from the Dutch government that were given to
Canaan, a project needs to have a business sponsor who is willing to commit to
buying the product.
Dr. Bronner’s then applied some or all of these same three steps—1) sponsoring certification and training, 2) helping ramp up/set up production and 3)
providing a guaranteed market—to help develop many other fair trade, organic certified supply sources.
Palm oil. This was another hands-on
project. To source this essential ingredient for its bar soaps, Dr. Bronner’s
worked with the NGO Fearless Planet
to establish an organic and fair trade
