UW-Madison alumnus Dr. Nasser Abufarha (MA'03, Anthropology; PhD'06, Anthropology with a minor in Urban & Regional Planning) has been invited by President Obama to the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship April 26–27 in Washington.
Abufarha is the founder of Canaan Fair Trade and the Palestine Fair Trade Association, two organizations committed to fair trade and social progress with small Palestinian farmers.
Abufarha helps export olive oil, olives, couscous, almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, tahini, za’atar (thyme), honey and olive oil soap to companies and specialty stores in the United States, Europe, Canada and Southeast Asia.
More than 1,700 farmers provide source materials to Canaan Fair Trade and the artisan farmers are organized into collectives and cooperatives under the Palestinian Fair Trade Association.
Abufarha will also be giving two talks on campus:
- "Insisting on Life" Tuesday May 4, 12-1:30pm - 206 Ingraham Hall: Fair trade and organic agriculture in Palestine has become a vehicle for economic and social empowerment and a medium for cultural expression and alternative modes of engagement. This grassroots livelihood and environmental sustainability initiative makes space for Palestine as a culture by articulating traditional Palestinian agri-culture within the modern global economy through fair trade and organic agricultural practices.
- "Dying to Live" Wednesday May 5, 3-4:30pm - 206 Ingraham Hall: Drawing from his book The Making of a Human Bomb, Abufarha will present the development of martyrdom strategies and Palestinian suicide attacks through mimetic engagement with Israeli state violence and how they serve as a medium for cultural expression. He explores how the cultural meanings associated with the performance of martyrdom and sacrifice in Palestine sustain Palestinian life.