Empower Artisans in Palestine through Fair Trade

It's time to tell you what the first quarter of 2022 has been like for Sunbula and our artisans.  First months of the year are normally our slow time, having just finished the holiday season rush.  But not this year; we've been busy and already have things to celebrate.

We have increased the income of our artisans

When we closed the books for 2021, we were delighted to see that the income earned by our artisans through our fair trade shop in Jerusalem and e-commerce grew by 23% over the previous year.  What's more, we've also managed to increase the artisans' income in the first quarter of this year by more than double of the same period last year! 

During the hardest period of the pandemic when Sunbula worked to raise emergency aid the artisans would tell us, 'donations are great, but what we really want is orders to sustain ourselves'.  So we are very happy to be able to provide them with more work even if our business is still much lower than the pre-pandemic level.

This upward trend is happening because the pandemic restrictions have been eased locally and internationally.  Tourists are returning to Jerusalem and visiting our shop for the first time in two years.  We are also grateful to our retail partners from around the world who are placing orders and promoting Palestinian crafts in their local community.  

We have launched new olive oil soaps 

In January, we unveiled the Beita Baladi Olive Oil Soaps, which had been in the making during the final months of 2021.  Handmade by women farmers and beekeepers at Beita Women's Deveopment Society, these exquisite soaps are made only from the natural harvests of their village, using the traditional soap-making methods.

We partnered with Rand Dabbour, a talented young graphic designer, to create an attractive packging and assisted the women with quality control.  The soaps have become popular sellers at our shop and online, generating additional income for the women.  

Sunbula regularly helps our artisans improve their products through our product development work.  We look forward to showcasing more in our future reports!

Your donation has helped us sustain our shop operation and provide product development support, making a direct impact on the lives of hundreds of artisans we work with.  Thank you so much!