Slattery Manchester – 5th March

The Divine team were delighted to be shown around the award winning chocolatiers ‘Slattery’ in Manchester where John Slattery shared the tricks of the trade in making gorgeous chocolate gifts and wedding cakes. Erica and Divine were presented with replica Ghanaian Cocoa pods made entirely of chocolate!

Plaza Hotel, Ballymun Tuesday 6th

Divine Chocolate had a fantastic evening at the Plaza Hotel, Ballymun, a Fairtrade town within the city of Dublin. Organised and supported by the local Global Action Project (GAP) committee, this was a run down part of town until recently. The event was a mix of stalls displaying Fairtrade products and speeches celebrating the success of the GAP and Fairtrade as a movement. Erica gave a speech on Kuapa and the impact Fairtrade had on her community which was received with much interest and questions.
Divine were extremely popular after setting up a dark chocolate fountain to entertain the guests. The children loved it!

International Women’s Day – with ActionAid

Erica and Charlotte were invited to join ActionAid at their high profile panel discussion to celebrate International Women’s Day. ActionAid had brought together some inspirational speakers – Hilary Benn MP, Maxine Molyneaux, Cassandra Balchin, and Noerine Kaleeba. Noerine is Ugandan and has been involved in educating and raising awareness about HIV/Aids. She is now Chair of ActionAid International – and a really fantastic speaker. It was a really passionate and interesting testament to women’s movements and organisations worldwide. At the end, before the floor was asked for questions, Erica was introduced to the audience and invited to speak about her experience of women’s empowerment in Ghana.

Sir John Cass School – Thursday 8th March

Louise Taplin, who heads up Divine’s sister charity Trading Visions, met up with Erica at Sir John Cass School in the City, where a number of classes were eagerly awaiting their visit, and very interested to know more about what it’s like in Ghana.

Louise has been running a Fairtrade education programme, aiming to engage schoolchildren of all ages with issues around world trade, and creating new material and workshops to engage and stimulate debate. So she’s an expert! Find out more about what she’s been doing at www.dubble.co.uk where young people can sign the Chocolate Challenge Manifesto!

At the Guildhall, London – Thursday 8th March

Back in London and off to meet the Chair of the City of London Corporation Michael Schneider and the Reverend George Bush (yes) who looks after one of the City of London parishes. Together they are getting behind Fairtrade, and supporting their colleague Emma Bara’s big push to get Fairtrade purchased by all the City businesses, and sold in local shops. These gentlemen wanted to make sure they were photographed with our special guest from Ghana.

Saint Laurence O’Toole Recreation Centre – 7th March

Next the Divine team and Erica had the pleasure of visiting the Saint Laurance O’Toole Recreation Centre and met lots of excited kids from schools from around the area. The Divine team played games with the children helping them understand how Fairtrade works and how they can help. Of course there were Fairtrade goodies including Dubble chocolate.

Larkin College 7th March

First thing, Divine and Erica visited the Larkin College in Dublin and spoke to a class of 12 yr olds from an inner city secondary school about how Fairtrade helps cocoa farmers in Ghana and the delicious result is treats you can buy – Divine and Dubble chocolate.

The whole agenda for the 7th March was put together at the instigation of Carol Finlay who works for Dublin City Coucil. The project manager for the Dublin Fairtrade City project and Dublin’s bid to be the first European Fairtrade capital city.

Dublin Institute of Technology

Over to meet the students at Dublin Institute of Technology Student Union, Bolton Street, Dublin. The college is doing great Fairtrade business in its student shop and canteen and they invited a selection of Fairtrade representatives to talk. Presentations were made by Erica as well as John Daly, Fairtrade Ireland board member, and Jim Corbett, MD of Bewleys Coffee, ireland’s first importer and roaster of Fairtrade coffee. A great talk and were well received!

Traditional Ghanaian meal

Food can sometimes be a challenge when we have visitors from Ghana, but not today. Erica had dinner with Rose and Issac and their son Samuel in Wakefield, a Ghanaian family who have only lived here 3 years. Rose works at the local hospital. It was good to share stories of home and listen to Ghanaian music. The yams were great!

Meeting the Mayor in Hull

Thursday 1st March

Erica met the current Lord Mayor and 94th Lord Mayor of Kingston-upon-Hull Councillor Trevor Larsen. Councillor Larsen is also Admiral of the Humber. The mayor showed Erica some of the famous names in his visitors book as he asked her to add hers. He also made a gift of a guide to Hull.