The Bite Magazine - Spring 2016 - Issue 15

D DIVINE CHOCOLATE The World of From being the first farmer-owned chocolate bar to influencing other chocolatiers to switch to Fairtrade, Divine Chocolate continues to excel in the confectionary world. Jada Brookes discovers their ethics and brand new product. bitechocolate I n the 1990s, there was a revolution- ary change in the way cocoa was distributed in Ghana. Along with a visionary farmer representative on the Ghana Cocoa Board, farmers realised they could sell their own cocoa to the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC), the state-owned company that was the single exporter of Ghana cocoa. As a result of this, the farmers came together to set up Kuapa Kokoo (meaning ‘good cocoa growers’) in 1993, a farmers’ co-operative that would be able to trade its own cocoa and manage the selling process more effectively than the government cocoa agents. This allowed the co-operative to empower farmers in their efforts to gain a dignified livelihood, increase women’s participa- tion in all of Kuapa Kokoo’s activities and develop environmentally friendly cultivation of cocoa. Divine, the first ever farmer-owned Fairtrade chocolate bar was launched on the UK confec- tionary market in 1998. The good thing about this is that the co-operative cocoa farmers own shares in the company that makes the chocolate bar and also have an input into decisions about how Divine is produced and sold. “Those who impact positively on the lives of others shall forever live in the memory of the heart,” said PCK Buah, President of the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union. The first Divine Fairtrade milk choco- late made from Kuapa Kokoo’s ‘pa paa paa’ cocoa meaning ‘the best of the best’ in the local Twi language was launched in October 1998 and was on super- market shelves by Christmas. The Body Shop which supported The Day Choc- olate Company (along with Christian Aid and Comic Relief) when it was set up by Kuapa Kokoo made a decision to donate its shares in the company. The following year, Day Chocolate changed their name to Divine Chocolate Ltd to closely align the company with its flagship brand. Through Oikocredit, a new busi- ness partner, Divine were able to launch Divine Chocolate Inc in the USA and appeared on the pages of the Washington Times when Kuapa ambassador Comfort Kumeah made a presentation about the company to staff on Capitol Hill. With Divine Chocolate leading the way, choc- olate confectionaries Cadbury, Nestlé and Mars made the switch to Fairtrade. Today, the farmers who own Divine have increased their membership to over 80,000 from 1,250 village societies and have succeeded in developing farming communities and farming skills, focusing particularly on water, health, education and sanitation to improve standards of living. Since they first launched in 1998, Divine ivine