For the past three years, the San Diego State University Entrepreneurial Management Center (EMC) and the Fred J. Hansen Institute for World Peace have collaborated with the Peres Center for Peace in Israel on the "Entrepreneurs for Peace™" Program. Our goal is to establish and sustain economic partnerships among Arab and Israeli farmers, entrepreneurs, and agri-business experts to produce and market crop products for the European and U.S. markets. "Peace" crops include olives, almonds, dates, grapes, pomegranates, strawberries and tomatoes.

Our first product will be a "blended Israeli-Palestinian" olive oil of the finest quality to be sold initially in the U.S. market. This product is the result of collaborations between Israeli and Arab entrepreneurs, agri-business experts, and executives. We are currently working with a manufacturer of olive oil who has agreed to partner with us on this new product introduction. Through the sales of this blended olive oil, our program will earn much-needed income to market additional "peace" products, support more entrepreneurs in the region, and continue our important work toward a sustainable peace through economic and entrepreneurial collaborations.

This program is built upon 10 years of collaboration between the EMC at San Diego State University and the Peres Center for Peace. In our past initiatives, Israeli and Arab farmers, agricultural experts, and business people made dramatic improvements to irrigation practices, pest management, and crop development to improve the entire process from the development of seeds to the delivery of the product to the consumer. In our Entrepreneurs for Peace program, we combine expertise in developing and sustaining cross-country partnerships to create economic collaborations throughout the region.

We focus on all aspects of the value chain to include farmers and producers, processors, distributors, public relations and marketing. Activities supported through the Entrepreneurs for Peace™ program include:

• Training in best production practices
• Research and development of new crop products for potential market entry
• Fostering Arab/Israeli business partnerships through a solicitation and networking process for new product innovations
• Mentoring and coaching of entrepreneurs
• Fellowship support for undergraduate and graduate student cross-country teams to conduct market research and assist with development of business and marketing plans

Peace is a process, not an end in itself — it needs constant nurturing. The Peres Center, the Fred J. Hansen Institute for World Peace and the EMC has well established and substantial relationships that can be leveraged in the peace building process. There is a window of opportunity now to strengthen this process by building economic links among neighbors in the Middle East region. Such partnerships begin to form the glue for a sustainable peace. This is an opportunity to make a difference and to help us continue in our quest to build peace through entrepreneurial collaborations.

Contact

If you would like to assist us in our quest for peace in the Middle East , please contact either Bonnie Stewart via email at bstewart@foundation.sdsu.edu or Sanford Ehrlich via email at sehrlich@projects.sdsu.edu or call the EMC at (619) 594-2781.