COMENIUS 2012 – 2014„LEARNING BY EATING“

1) Introduction: Fairtrade – Cocoa and Cocolate

Exploring Fairtrade is a great way to get started with

understanding the global connections in our lives

and how the choices we make about what we buy

can affect people living in other countries around the

world.

Fairtrade is a different way of doing business. It

ensures that the most disadvantaged producers, living in some of the

poorest countries in the world get paid a fair price for their products.

When you choose to buy products with the Fairtrade mark (see above) you

are helping to ensure these producers can provide for their families and

communities.

In the following you can inform yourself about some details of Fairtrade

chocolate production. Have a look at the different tasks:

COMENIUS 2012 – 2014„LEARNING BY EATING“

2) Where is cocoa grown?

The countries which grow the most cocoa are:

1. Ivory Coast

2. Ghana

3. Indonesia

4. Nigeria

5. Brazil

6. Ecuador

The countries which eat the most chocolate are:

1. Switzerland

2. Austria

3. Ireland

4. Great Britain

5. Norway

Please find and mark the locations above on the

„Chocolate Map”. Do you notice anything about who

grows the cocoa and who eats the chocolate?

COMENIUS 2012 – 2014„LEARNING BY EATING“

3) The price of a chocolate bar

Have a look at the following people who are all involved in the journey of a chocolate bar. Decide for each of these people how much they should get from £ 1 paid for one chocolate bar.

Farmers grow and care for the cocoa trees for three to five years harvest the cocoa pods in very hot temperatures remove the beans from the pods ferment the beans for six days and dry them for ten days take the sacks of beans to sell to cocoa buyers

A chocolate bar costs £1.00. How much should the farmer be paid for his part in making the chocolate bar?

Cocoa buyers weigh the sacks of beans pay the farmer for the beans arrange to take the beans to the port

A chocolate bar costs £1.00. How much should a cocoa buyer be paid for his part in making the chocolate bar?

Importers transport the beans from Ghana to your home country turn the beans into cocoa solids and cocoa butter

A chocolate bar costs £1.00. How much should you be paid for your part in making the chocolate bar?

Shops buy the chocolate bars from the chocolate companies sell the chocolate bars to shoppers

A chocolate bar costs £1.00. How much should the shops be paid for their part in making the chocolate bar?

Chocolate companies buy the cocoa solids and cocoa butter buy the other ingredients make the chocolate bars pay for the chocolate bar wrappers pay for advertising the chocolate bars

COMENIUS 2012 – 2014„LEARNING BY EATING“

A chocolate bar costs £1.00. How much should the companies be paid for their part in making the chocolate bar?

The Government

charges tax on the chocolate bars

A chocolate bar costs £1.00. How much should the Government be paid for their part in making the chocolate bar?

Now, add up everything. Is it more or less than £1?

Have a look at the actual amounts each person is paid:

o Farmer – 8p o Cocoa buyers – 7p o Importer – 14p o Chocolate company – 28p o Shops – 28p o Government – 15p

Do you think that’s fair?

4) Problems the cocoa farmers have to face

As you can see, the cocoa farmers do only earn a small amount of money for the hard work they have to fulfill every day.

Additionally, there are many problems a cocoa farmer has to face?

The price of cocoa keeps going up and down on the world market, so there is no long term security.

The farming equipment, food, medicine, etc. are very expensive. Machetes and pesticides can be very dangerous.

COMENIUS 2012 – 2014„LEARNING BY EATING“

Children often have to work to bring in extra income for farming families. Child labour is a big problem in the cocoa industry . The US Department of State estimates that more than 109,000 children in Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa industry alone work under “the worst forms of child labor,” and that some 10,000 are victims of human trafficking or enslavement.

Very low pay: farmers only receive a fraction of the price paid for each chocolate bar

5) Fairtrade can help the cocoa farmers

How does Fairtrade help?

It protects the environment. The farmers work together in cooperative. The farmers are able to wrap up long term contracts. There is no child labour. There are better working conditions for everybody involved. Farmers

benefit from minimum health and safety conditions, meaning they are at less risk of injury.

COMENIUS 2012 – 2014„LEARNING BY EATING“

6) Voices of Fairtrade Farmers

"Fairtrade is good to the farmer and makes us happy. We would like to sell more cocoa to Fairtrade so more farmers can taste a better life."

Comfort Kwaasibea, cocoa farmer.

“We can proudly take good care of ourselves and our children... because of Fairtrade we can stand on our own because we are self-sufficient.”

Akua Gyamfua, cocoa farmer and stall holder.

COMENIUS 2012 – 2014„LEARNING BY EATING“

7) Now it is up to you to go Fairtrade!

Workshop : Buying Fairtrade

You want to convince the students at your school of only buying Fairtrade chocolate.

Design a power point-presentation with the most important facts in order to inform the others.

Have fun!