Wednesday 11 April 2007

 

Zatoun April 2007 Update: new soap collection, more gift bags and other news

Dear friends and supporters of Zatoun,

After a truly remarkable year, Zatoun is ready for another one. The support and impact is visibly building. With the help of its community of supporters across the continent, Zatoun is making a difference. We hope to double the value from 2006 and contribute over $350,000 directly to Palestinian farmers and workers.

Much news and many highlights to list:

24,000 + 24 ,000 in 2007
Incredible how Zatoun has grown with your help and support. From tiny beginnings exactly 3 years ago with only 1,500 bottles - Zatoun is looking to sell 24,000 bottles of olive oil and 24,000 bars of olive oil soap in 2007. These nice round numbers will contribute over $350,000 to Palestinian growers, workers and activist projects.

NOW! "Zatoun Olive Oil is Certified Fair Trade"
Yes you can say it! Fair trade certification has finally arrived! This order is Certified Fair Trade by IMO from Switzerland. After waiting for the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) to develop standards for olive oil - PFTA / Canaan proceed with IMO to make it happen. To learn more about IMO please visit imo.ch

NEW! Soap Collection - 4 special bars - fundraising for Project Hope
An amazing collection of 4 soaps form Nablus - ancestral home of soap making - pure olive oil from Palestine is used and mixed 20% by weight with honey, goat's milk, lemon and mud from the Dead Sea to give you a gift collection of 4 unique and exquisite soap for you and your gift-giving. The project was launched by Zatoun as a fundraising venture for Project Hope. Zatoun will donate $5 for each box sold to Project Hope for its programs in Nablus. Visit the soap collection page.

NEW! New Trees for Life Sponsorship
In the same way, Zatoun wants to create an easy and more direct way to support Trees for Life: Planting Peace in Palestine. Zatoun will continue to direct a portion of proceeds to the program but wants to make it possible to sponsor trees directly - now you can purchase a sponsorship of 5 olive tree saplings to be planted for $20. You can buy as many sponsorships in multiples of 5 trees. Please visit the Trees for Life Sponsorship page.

MORE Hand Embroidered gift bags from Gaza
The embroidered bags were such a huge hit - sold out within a week around Christmas time that we had to get them back. The bags are from Gaza and produced by Atfaluna (Arabic for our children), an educational, training and care institution for deaf children and adults. Zatoun returns all proceeds to Atfaluna to assist with its mission and programs. Please visit the Atfaluna site for more information.

IMPROVED Order Process & Simplified Shipping & Online Payment
Please visit the order page which will take you to US or Canada order form. Note the maps and unified shipping zones. It was important to move to zone shipping for the sake of simplicity and clarity. Also it helps Zatoun be more available to supporters in non-urban or non-central locations. Zatoun may have to pay more to get there but it is important to us to be as affordable as possible to people and / or organizations.

Also, our online payment system involves emailing electronic invoices for payment via credit card through PayPal's gateway site. You do not have to be a PayPal member or have an account. Pay securely online with all major credit cards.

Leonardo daVinci Awards 2007
Zatoun is a finalist in the Leonardo daVinci Awards 2007 ! Nominated by a supporter in March, Zatoun has been selected a finalist in the "community" category to receive a Leo Award held on April 17. The Awards is part of worldwide "Creativity and Innovation Day - April 21" and has with national/local chapters (more info at creativityday.ca).

"Trees for Life - Planting Update"
The planting season completed in early March. Zatoun & PFTA is developing a final report. The total numbers are 12,600 tree saplings were planted in appx. 300 farmers in the areas of Jenin, Nablus and Salfit. Zatoun contributed to over half the number from 2006 sale proceeds of oil and direct donations received from individuals and organizations. The US Campaign to End the Occupation contributed over $2,500 by partnering with Trees for Life for its fundraising drives. We have been overwhelmed with the number and generosity of individual donations. All donations are acknowledged with a letter and certificate. If you have not received a certificate - please let us know - we may have missed you - sincere apologies.

Loan Guarantee fully subscribed
Our need to guarantee a $60,000 loan was fully covered. Thank you to the many guarantors who agreed to lend support in this unique way. It enabled Zatoun to grow in 2007 by helping our cashflow. It is not likely we could have gotten the 2007 shipment without the loan. Thank you!


** Always needed ** HELP! Volunteer Help - New Section on Website
We need help from volunteers. Please see a list of the many varied and wonderful ways you can help Zatoun. Please visit to see what appeals to your sensitivities and talents. There is bound to be something for you - let's talk about it.


Thank you so much, we look forward to your support and great success in 2007.

For more information: www.zatoun.com info@zatoun.com

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