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