Meet the farmers
Kuapa Kokoo is a co-operative of Ghanaian cocoa farmers nearly 50,000 strong. Cocoa from Ghana is famous for being top quality and Kuapa Kokoo means 'good cocoa farmer' in Twi, the local language.
If you have ever munched on Fairtrade chocolate in the UK, chances are it came from these guys. They grow their cocoa on small family farms about the size of six football pitches. As well as cocoa, they also grow yam, cassava, coconut and plantain to feed their families.
The cocoa farmers live in small, remote villages, often without running water, electricity or healthcare, and most villages don’t have a school or teachers.
In 1995 Kuapa Kokoo were certified to sell their cocoa beans as Fairtrade. They had worked to make sure they were meeting all the Fairtrade standards. These include:
- farming in a way that’s kind to humans and the environment
- making working conditions safe
- banning child labour
- ensuring women’s voices are heard in making decisions
Roughly one in every three cocoa farmers in Kuapa is a woman. Women are right in the thick of the action when it comes to running the co-operative too, represented on committees all the way to the top. This means when the time comes for the farmers to decide how to spend their Fairtrade premium, the women get their chance to have their say.
The Fairtrade premium the farmers receive on top of the Fairtrade price for their cocoa is invested by the community into projects to benefit them all. Kuapa Kokoo farmers have spent their premium on building wells for drinking water, building public toilets, and a mobile clinic to visit member’s villages. They’ve also invested in training in leadership and management and set up some other ways for women especially to earn more money, making soap and palm oil, milling corn and farming snails.
"Fairtrade is a good thing. Things you take for granted may be hard to come by in Ghana. 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
Want this in more detail? Click here for more about farmers and Fairtrade.