Belfast Fairtrade Awards

Stormont

David Greenwood-Haigh from Divine Chocolate 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!

Divine Chocolate arrive in Wales

Kuapa Kokoo farmers Paul and Kojo with the mayor of Merthyr Tydif, Allan Jones

Divine Chocolate, Kuapa Kokoo farmers and Fairtrade Wales with Allan Jones, the mayor of Merthyr Tydfil and his wife

A warm welcome was waiting for Divine Chocolate and the cocoa farmers, Kojo and Paul in Merthyr Tydfil on St Davids Day. The sun was shining as everyone sat down for a delicious meal hosted by the mayor of Merthyr Tydif. The produce in the meal was grown locally by cooperatives of meat and vegetable farmers who attended the dinner and enjoyed talking to the cocoa farmers about the similar issues they both faced.

Then on to a St Davids Day Concert with guest performances from the opera singer Rebecca Evans and the Welsh Dowlais Choir. Everyone at the concert enjoyed meeting the farmers and sampling Divine Chocolate. The farmers were very impressed by the hospitality in Merthyr Tydfil and the fantastic music throughout the evenings event.

Divine Chocolate and the Eden school trip

Sara and Wendy finish their tour at Eden with Paul and Kojo

Two groups of fourteen year old school girls were taken for a tour of the tropical Eden Biome to see cocoa pods growing on the trees before being treated to presentations from Kojo and Paul. After taking the groups through the bean to bar process they were also able to talk in detail about the benefits of Fairtrade and the importance of their roles as Kuapa Kokoo recorders in their villages. After a Q and A session everyone was treated to Dubble chocolate bars.

Divine Chocolate in Eden

Caitlin Guest, winner of the Divine Chocolate Poetry Competition read her poem at Eden

Paul and Kojo in the biomes at the Eden Project

Photos accredited to the Eden Project

Another early start, another hearty fry-up (with extra mushrooms and bacon) and we were back on the train, headed to St Austell in Cornwall. We were greeted at the station by the multi-coloured Monroe Shephard from the Eden Project. He took us to meet the St Austell Fairtrade steering committee and local council members before leading us around a number of shops taking part in St Austell’s ‘Fairtrade trail’. Kojo and Paul were delighted to see shops stocking the Divine Easter Eggs and one bookseller kindly gave Paul a bible.

After lunch we were taken to the steamy wonderland of Eden Project’s tropical Biome. Kojo and Paul were astonished to be introduced to Hetty – Eden’s very own cocoa farmer! – before being introduced to Eden’s very own cocoa trees! The winner of the Divine Poetry competition (12-16years age group), Caitlin Guest, had made a special trip to Eden to meet the farmers. We were privileged enough to hear a live reading of her winning poem ‘Not Just Cocoa’.

School groups were treated to first hand stories of cocoa farming in Ghana and Paul gave a live demonstration of splitting open a cocoa pod with a machete! Visitors were given the rare opportunity to sample the fruity pulp of the cocoa seed in the Biome and the chance to sample delicious Divine Chocolate up in Eden’s shop. Having seen the biome Kojo said “I can’t believe that all the plants we were telling you about are here. We’ll have to watch out ... soon Eden will be growing cocoa for the UK’s chocolate!”.