On The Ground partnered with the Palestinian Fair Trade Association for The Run Across Palestine (RAP) in February 2012. The event is continuing to raise funds and awareness for the fair trade olive farmers of Palestine.
Click the map to the left for our map & itinerary, meet our team of runners and media, see the latest updates right here and be sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Funds raised from RAP have several immediate impacts, including purchasing and planting thousands of olive trees and providing scholarships for the children of Palestinian olive farmers. All this is designed to reestablish sustainable olive growing practices in a place whose history, economy, culture, and identity are all rooted in the ancient olive tree.
• Help us fundraise for RAP!
• Donate to this project!
• Learn about the trees program and scholarship program
• Hear some of the olive farmers stories
• Become a sponsor for RAP
• Click here for a full press kit and media release
The Run Across Palestine used the same model that On The Ground developed for the successful Run Across Ethiopia. In 2011, On the Ground organized the Run Across Ethiopia, a multi-stage 250-mile running expedition which raised over $200,000 to build 3 schools and conduct multiple education projects in farming communities in Ethiopia. A dedicated team of endurance runners were tasked with raising part of the $100,000 target of the RAP before the run began. The run will span the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories, from Hebron to Jenin. Participants ran from one olive growing community to another and slept on farms at night, using established relationships with the Palestinian Fair Trade Association, and other organizations involved with the immediate survival of farm communities.
The setting for the run was the birthplace and confluence of many of the world’s religions. Many people only know this geographical area of the world as an ongoing media sidebar to the decades of struggle for peace in the Middle East. The run transcended the daily news stories and addressed the the visible and hidden impacts from the loss of traditional farmlands for the individual farmers and their families. A media team accompanied the runners and transmitted daily multimedia reports to schools, community groups and individuals throughout the world.
Olive trees have been used to represent peace for thousands of years. The Palestinian Fair Trade Association has a statement that sums up the project: “At its heart, Fair Trade is about connecting people across the Globe in a spirit of equity, trust and openness.” This is the foundation of our work here at On The Ground, and the Run Across Palestine enlists the support of the world community for these hard-working farmers.
Join On The Ground in this incredible journey. You can do this by volunteering your time on the project (which is ongoing, even though the Run itself has been completed), helping us to fundraise, donating to the project, or by creating an event in your community. Contact us at info@onthegroundglobal.org or 877.825.2262.
Run Across Palestine from Stone Hut Studios on Vimeo.
