A woman named Comfort wants to take you on "a journey through chocolate heaven."

 

Standing in a room with modern white furniture and below dimly lit spherical lights hanging from the ceiling, Ghanaian cocoa farmer Comfort Kumeah explained how she makes her chocolate, using constant hand motions to break through any misunderstandings her strong accent may cause.

 

Surrounded by people dressed in business-casual attire, Kumeah stood out before saying a word, wearing a bright yellow top and pants adorned with African patterns. Kumeah is part of Kuapa Kokoo, a more than 20,000-person cocoa grower's cooperative based in Ghana, West Africa that, with the help of investors, started Divine Chocolate Ltd., the world's first and only farmer-owned fair trade chocolate company.

 

A widow and mother of five in her 50s, Kumeah also works as a teacher at the local primary school and has become a role model for women by becoming Kuapa Kokoo's national secretary, furthering the company's success in providing women with income-generating projects.

 

"This is giving us money to feed ourselves and our children," said Kumeah, her hands outstretched almost as wide as the smile on her face. "Every bar improves our living condition."

 

Already a thriving company in the United Kingdom, Divine Chocolate recently hosted a tasting in Washington, D.C.'s LeftBank restaurant to celebrate the debut of its U.S. headquarters, which is also located in the district.

 

With a chocolate market worth $13 billion, the U.S. seemed like a natural next step for the company.

 

"Americans eat a lot of chocolate, but I'm sure you could eat more," said Sophi Tranchell, the managing director for Divine Chocolate in the UK, referring to the 13 pounds of chocolate a year the average American consumes.

 

Business strategy aside, the real focus of the evening was promoting the awareness of fair trade issues. Purchasing fair trade products is quickly becoming trendy, with other fair trade products such as coffee and tea gaining popularity on the market. However, with mainstream products being so, well, mainstream, a major obstacle for fair trade companies is visibility and availability.

 

"This supply market is one that gives people dignity," Tranchell said. "We want to challenge the way trading is done and keep people enjoying chocolate." But for it to be successful, Tranchell adds, "we need each of you to tell your friends, your workplaces. Go to shops, ask for the chocolate."

 

Tranchell explained the success the company has seen in the UK, noting famous faces such as Prime Minister Tony Blair and Coldplay's Chris Martin as a few who have made the trip to Ghana to see the operation.

 

The company, along with the $1,600 for every ton of cocoa it receives as fair wages, also gets a $150 fair trade premium per ton. This is a stark contrast to the $200 to $300 a year regular cocoa farmers can earn. Last year, Kuapa sold 1,800 tons, or just more than 3 percent of its crop, to the fair trade market. This small percentage is caused by limited demand for fair trade chocolate.

 

The fair trade premium the group receives is given back to the farmers' communities through clean water projects, free medical care for more than 100,000 people and school-building projects.

 

Aside from the fairer wages and premium on their crops, Kuapa Kokoo, which means "good cocoa farmer" in Twi, a Ghanaian language, owns about one-third of the shares in the company and has two seats on the board of directors.

 

While the taste of the chocolate is creamy and actually lives up to the melts-in-your-mouth promise chocolate companies usually give, people who attended the D.C. reception were equally as interested in the message behind the taste.

 

Health worker Katy Quissel, a D.C. resident, said while waiting for a friend, though she's not an expert on fair trade issues, "it's hard to do a lot of helpful things in the health sector without taking into account economic issues."

 

For Mona and Valentine Davies on the other hand, fair trade is a part of life. Located in a Washington, D.C. suburb, their store The Culture Shop specializes in fair trade products.

 

"I hope (Divine Chocolate) serves as an example for other groups," said Mona Davies, who says her store has been selling the chocolate since the store's opening a year and a half ago.

 

Divine Chocolate's 3.5-ounce chocolate bars ($2-$3) come in dark, milk and white chocolate as well as with added mint or hazelnut. The chocolate is available stateside through the Web site AGreaterGift.org as well as specialty stores such as The Culture Shop. It can also be sold to individuals through school and church fundraisers. A list of vendors as well as information about how to get involved with fundraisers can be found on the group's Web site, http://www.DivineChocolateUSA.com.

 

With companies such as Hershey's and Mars/M&M Inc. dominating the U.S. chocolate industry, Divine's major obstacle won't be quality, but accessibility to its customers. Valentine Davies urges, "It's so important for people to realize there's a difference between world trade and fair trade."---

 

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/living/16845646.htm

I missed this thread :blank:

 

Thanks for posting, this is great news! I've only eaten fair trade chocolate after reading an article that went into details and specifics on how horribly chocolate laborers (which are practically all children) are treated.

 

I bumped into this ad while researching online:

 

 

It's really sad..yet it doesn't even begin to portray what those children are put through in the cocoa plantations.

 

So if anyone is interested in other brands of fair trade chocolate besides Divine, I know of Dagoba (my fav!), Green & Blacks and Equal Exchange.

Wasn't she Hugh Grant's "hooker"??:rolleyes:

That ad is kind of a dickhead one. "Stuffing their faces?" Honestly, it's not like everybody in the world is going to know where the stuff is coming from. No need to insult people who aren't aware of such things...