Divine Chocolate tour in Ireland continues

Mayor of Skibbereen and Divine Chocolate unveil the towns Fairtrade status

Divine Chocolate’s touring farmer’s visited Skibbereen, a small town south west of Cork to announce the town’s Fairtrade status with the Mayor of Skibbereen. An ex Nigerian cocoa farmer who now live’s in Skibbereen met the farmers and shared experiences. Congratulations to Skibbereen on achieving Fairtrade status!

A long day ended with a trip to Bantry – an idyllic village on the southern coast of Ireland. The wind was beginning to blow but the warmth and enthusiasm of our welcome was very touching.
After having been formally welcomed by Mayor Mary Haggerty and signed the visitors book in the Town Hall our party crossed the road to a fairtrade event at the Christian Fellowship Church. The local Fairtrade Steering Group had organised a limerick competion, the first line being ‘There once was a producer from Ghana’. Over 200 entries were recieved and the farmers were delighted to hear the limericks and hand over Divine Chocolate hampers to the two winners.

Winner of the Bantry Limericks competition

Under 12 Winning Limerick
There was a producer from Ghana
Who liked to produce a banana
Be just and be nice
and pay a fair price
To himself and his wife Susannah

Under 18 entry Winning Limerick
There once was a producer from Ghana
Who worked in a field with a lama
He grew chocolate from seeds
For fairtrade societies
To be sold to your lovely old nana

Divine Chocolate at Cork Music School

Paul and Kojo with the Mayor of Cork and guests

Fairtrade activists, local retailers, Oxfam, Trocaire and the Mayor of Cork welcomed Divine Chocolate and Kuapa Kokoo to the Cork School of Music. Divine gave presentations to the audience followed by Peter Gaynor, Director of Fairtrade Ireland. They then enjoyed a variety of Irish music played by the school.

Divine Chocolate Meeting the President

Kojo and Paul presenting the President McAleese with traditional

Ghanaian Kente cloth and Divine Chocolates as Peter Gaynor from Fairtrade Mark Ireland looks on.

A trip to Áras an Uachtaráin (The Irish Presidential Palace) in Dublin, was a real treat for the Fairtrade farmers and their Divine Chocolate colleagues alike as they attended a reception hosted by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.

This celebration of Fairtrade within Ireland was attended by Kojo and Paul from Kuapa Kokoo as well as Fairtrade business representatives and local Fairtrade activists from throughout Ireland.

After welcoming the guests the President clearly laid out her own personal support of Fairtrade and commented that she was confident that Fairtrade would become increasingly available throughout Ireland, as the Irish people stand for econmic justice and in solidarity with those less fortunate than themselves.

Whilst meeting a country’s leader is a new honour for most, Kojo later informed us that he also met both Tony Blair (Prime Minister of Britain), and John Kuffor (President of Ghana) when they visited Kuapa Kokoo, Ghana in 2002.

Divine Chocolate in Ballymun

Divine Chocolate were welcomed by Global Action Plan and the Ballymun Fairtrade Steering Committee at their ‘Wake Up and Smell the Coffee’ event in Ballymun, near Dublin.
The evening was celebrated with a 100 guest’s from the local community who enjoyed the chocolate fountain oozing with Divine Chocolate as well as other Fairtrade sample’s and goodies. Paul and Kojo were the guest speaker’s and were followed by a screening of the highly acclaimed documentary Black Gold.

Belfast Mayor gets to try Divine Fairtrade Chocolate

Paul and Kojo presenting the Mayor of Belfast with a Divine Chocolate hamper

Paul and Kojo met the current Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Jim Rodgers (Ulster Unionist Party – UUP) who explained that the Titanic sailed from Belfast in perfect condition. The Mayor proudly told the farmers of the city’s ongoing commitment with supporting Fairtrade.

Divine Chocolate farmers celebrate in Belfast

Paul and Kojo enjoy Fairtrade drinks with a giant banana at a local Oxfam shop

Divine Chocolate’s David Greenwood-Haigh presenting at Queen University

From Wales to Ireland and the final leg of the Divines ‘Chocolate makes the world go round’ tour. Paul and Kojo arrived in Belfast to the sound of drums as the Oxfam Ireland shop on Rosemary Street arranged a Fairtrade party in honour of the farmers and Fairtrade Fortnight. There was even a giant Fairtrade banana, a must at all parties.

Then on to Queen University, awared Fairtrade status, for an evening with their business student’s. Divine Chocolate with Paul and Kojo gave presentation’s, followed by a local Fairtrade cafe, showing how Fairtrade is making a difference to farmers in Ghana and a difference to local businesses in Ireland.

Belfast Fairtrade Awards

Stormont

Today I attended the Belfast Fairtrade Award’s organised by the Belfast City Council at Stormont to recognise shop’s, restaurant’s and cafe’s who had actively promoted and sold Fairtrade product’s over the last year.
There were 7 categories to vote in:

1. Best independent retailer
2. Best supermarket
3. Best café
4. Best employer
5. Best bar or restaurant
6. Best school
7. Outstanding contribution to Fairtrade

We were delighted to see Oxfam, one of our Divine Chocolate’s top customer’s, win 3 awards and Co-op winning an award for best supermarket.

From primary to tertiary – Fairtrade rules

Paul shows Year 6 children what a cocoa pod looks like

In Aberystwyth, North Wales Divine Chocolate had been invited to attend a Fairtrade conference for local schools organised by Diane Isenberg. This was a fantastic event – attended in the morning by classes and Fairtrade Groups from a large number of primary schools – hosted by Penglais Secondary School. There were Fairtrade stands, and displays and presentations from schoolchildren demonstrating the innovative ways in which they had promoted Fairtrade in their schools and communities. Kojo and Paul captured their attention with the story of life on a cocoa farm and were then able to meet all the children in smaller groups to answer questions and show them cocoa pods and beans up close. One child, whose father is a farmer, offered to trade two sacks of cocoa for two cows – and Kojo seemed to be quite tempted. We weren’t sure they would get through Heathrow on the journey back though.

In the afternoon it was the turn of the Year 8 classes at Penglais. Fairtrade posters were all over the school and a Fairtrade mural had been painted on the wall by students in one of the canteens. It was amazing to see the zeal with which young Welsh people were getting behind Fairtrade. Dubble and Divine sampling was an added bonus at the end of the event!

Wales Fairtrade Forum leader Mark Richardson then piled us into his car and we headed north again – to Bangor. There we were on the programme of a Fairtrade evening event at Bangor University. Andrew Wilson heads up the Fairtrade team at the University and had achieved amazing things since the group got together in January this year. 120 students, residents and local officials turned up which I attribute to Andrew’s brilliant marketing – but he put it down to the lure of chocolate! Always a winner. There was no doubt that the audience was interested, and engaged, asking questions about supply chains and farming technology and coming up to talk at length after the event. A high point of the evening was when Kojo and Paul presented the Mayor with his certificate announcing that Bangor had achieved Fairtrade Town status.

ITV Wales has been broadcasting reports all through Fairtrade Fortnight from Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana – featuring Paul Ayepah, the farmer on tour with Divine Chocolate.

See the films here:

Introducing Fairtrade

Empowering women

Growing cocoa

Linking schools in Ghana and Wales

Divine Chocolate getting down to business in Cardiff

Kojo and Paul with Elizabeth Hudson of the Wales Co-op Centre

It’s Monday – and Tom Allen (Trading Visions) and Charlotte Borger (Divine Chocolate) have joined Kojo and Paul in Wales. First stop this morning was a Business Breakfast held in the spectacular Millennium Centre just near Cardiff Bay. Organised by Wales Co-operative Centre, it was an opportunity for local businesses to hear more about what Fairtrade is achieving and the great reasons for stocking and supplying Fairtrade products (especially Divine and Dubble!). Kojo and Paul made a strong case for supporting Fairtrade, and then it was straight on to a roundtable discussion to talk about ways Welsh companies can be involved in making and keeping Wales a Fairtrade country. We had lunch while serenaded by wonderful Welsh voices singing to a lunchtime audience in the atrium of the Millennium Centre. Outside we were all photographed by the legendary silver tower made famous by Dr Who and Torchwood!

Our Llanelli visit was cancelled – but not wasting any time, another visit to a Cardiff primary school (the Herbert Thompson School) was instantly arranged and several classes of Year 5 schoolchildren unexpectedly found themselves meeting real-life cocoa farmers and asking important questions like “How do you carry 62.5 kg sacks on your head?”. Paul obligingly demonstrated with my bag (which weighs almost as much). The children heard all about how cocoa beans are fermented and dried – and also were amazed to hear how much Ghanaian children do to help their parents – clean the house, fetch water, feed their younger brothers – before going to school in the morning.

They learned how to say ‘best of the best’ in Twi – and we learned how to say ‘hello’ in Welsh!
Next stop Aberystwyth.

See the ITV Wales films from Kuapa Kokoo (featuring Paul Ayepah) here
Introducing Fairtrade
Empowering women
Growing cocoa
Linking schools in Ghana and Wales

A Divine Day of Rest

Divine Chocolate attend a church service in Wales

Sunday was a much needed day of rest for the Divine Chocolate tour. Paul and Kojo from Kuapa Kokoo attended a Mothers Day service at the Park End Presbyterian Church of Wales, Cardiff and spoke a few words to the congregation telling them the benefits of Fairtrade. Afterwards they enjoyed Fairtrade tea and biscuits with the community, a great end to the first week!