Paul Calvert spoke with Suzan Sahori, the Executive Director, of Bethlehem Fair Trade Artisans.

They are trying to copy and they are making nativities now, but I hope that the world will keep realising what is real Holy Land made products and what is Chinese products.

Paul: Without fair trade, would producers be exploited by bigger organisations?

Suzan: Yes, very definitely the small producers are exploited by the larger organisations and by the middle man, souvenir shops.

Unfortunately the small producers don't have olive wood raw materials on hand. That means they have to go and buy the wood, but don't have the cash to pay for it, so they buy from a larger workshop and pay treble, or four times the price. So their small products will cost much more than larger producers.

Through fair trade we are trying to provide the small producers with raw materials at the beginning of the year. This year we were successful to give them each a small grant to buy wood from the beginning of the year. It's not a large amount, it's a beginning, but I want them to buy the wood and be able to have raw materials on hand. They will pay it back very easily from their orders.

We really need to work more on this issue. Unfortunately we don't have copyright. There is a lack of capacity in our governmental organisations, to really fulfil these needs for those small producers.

Paul: Do you get a chance to travel and talk about Bethlehem fair trade?

Suzan: Yes I do get the chance and I grab every chance I get to talk about fair trade and also about the political situation in Palestine, as they are related with each other.

Our old project was called Fair Trade Fair Peace. When you talk about fair trade, when you are providing a small producer a good income with good dignity that means he is able to think about other things in life and not just worry about tomorrow. It's providing for him economical sustainability with the work that fair trade is giving them.

Paul: You also have online shopping don't you?

Suzan: We have an online shop and get many hits. Our products are liked by so many. We get small orders for things like a nativity that is made by the Together Life Centre in Bethlehem. The shipping costs more than the felt nativity itself, but they are willing to pay for it. Our online shop has proven to be successful.

Paul: Are you making a difference in the community?

Suzan: I'd like to believe we are making a difference in the community. We are established to provide economical social sustainability and we are making a difference in many producers' lives. We are also working much harder to provide for the others who could not sell a lot of their products. We are trying to work for the next three years to do new product development, to make more sales for all our beneficiaries, not just for 20-30 producers.

I would like to say that the difference we are making is shown in the conferences that we do with the producers. Through the attendants and the dedication of the producers to fulfil the orders on time. They are really part of this organisation and because we pay them on time and sometimes ahead of time, if someone needs a loan for an emergency in his home, he comes to us and we give him money, because we have a trust between each other. Fair trade is all about humanity and trust.