Fairtrade Fortnight Tour

image by kim naylor

Welcome to the Divine Chocolate Fairtrade Fortnight blog.

Divine Chocolate is inviting two cocoa farmers from Ghana to join them here for Fairtrade Fortnight 2008 (25th February – 9th March). Throughout the tour Divine Chocolate and the two farmers will be regulary updating this blog with stories of their journey. This year Divine Chocolate’s tour will include visits to Ireland and Wales, as well as several events in England.

Throughout the two weeks Divine Chocolate and the two Kuapa farmers will be attending a variety of Fairtrade-inspired events and talking to schoolchildren, shoppers and retailers, church groups and local businesses, government officials and Fairtrade steering committees. They will be telling their stories of how Fairtrade, and owning a chocolate company, has changed their lives – and in turn discovering how much we love chocolate here in the UK – and why ‘chocolate makes the world go round’!

The current schedule includes England events in London, Exeter and the Eden Project in Cornwall. In Wales the tour includes Bangor, Powys, Cardiff and Aberystwyth. Then on to Ireland where visits to Dublin, Cork and Belfast are planned.

Divine Chocolate has toured every year for the past six years with cocoa farmers during Fairtrade Fortnight, and 2008 will be the first time the farmers who come will be men! Their roles as Recorders are key to the structure and organisation of Kuapa Kokoo – they are elected as trusted fellow-farmers to weigh the cocoa accurately and pay farmers the right price accordingly. Each year thousands of people in the UK have had the chance to hear farmers speak and hear firsthand the impact of Fairtrade, and hundreds of them have had the chance to speak to the farmers in person. This direct connection with the farmers behind the food we love is key to the appeal of Fairtrade.

Divine Chocolate

Divine Chocolate announced its dividend and Kuapa Kokoo, the largest share holder, shares in the companys profits

Divine Chocolate is the delicious Fairtrade chocolate that is co-owned by the Ghanaian cooperative of cocoa farmers, Kuapa Kokoo, which means ‘the Good Cocoa Farmer’ in the local Twi language.

All Divine products carry the Fairtrade Mark. This is an independent guarantee from the Fairtrade Foundation that the ingredients are sourced under internationally agreed fair trade terms and conditions. These include a guaranteed, secure price above the world market price for cocoa, an extra social premium payment, long term trading contracts, decent health and safety conditions and a commitment to support community programmes aimed at empowering farmers to increase their abilities to be self sufficient. Divine goes even one step further as the farmers co-ownership of the company means they have a direct influence over how Divine is run and receive a share of the profits from the chocolate.