Life of a Cocoa Farmer
From raw cocoa pod to finished product, the cocoa bean is the primary source of income for 40 to 50 million people worldwide. Of these people, an estimated 5 to 6 million are cocoa farmers. Small farms produce more than 90 percent of the world’s cocoa. Many of these small farmers are living at or only slightly above the poverty level.
The Global Cocoa Project is working to provide these small farmers with the proper tools to operate their farms and produce high-quality cocoa, as well as basic needs to improve their quality of life. With a higher quality harvest, farmers are able to command a higher price for their beans, increase their annual income, and better their standard of living. Donations of items like wells, latrines, and solar-powered lights further improve health and well-being.
African Cocoa Farmers
African cocoa growers have not reaped the benefits of Africa’s domination of the cocoa market. Despite the fact that the chocolate business is very lucrative, cocoa farmers and their families are below the poverty line struggling to meet basic needs.
Without adequate housing, equipment, clean water or latrines, they suffer from multiple health problems such as malaria, snake bites and a host of water-borne diseases. Because children spend much of their day performing agricultural duties such as monitoring the drying of cocoa beans, their education suffers as well. In Côte d’Ivoire approximately one-third of children ages 6 to 17 who live in cocoa-producing households have never attended school.
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Forging Relationships with Chocolatiers
The Global Cocoa Project takes a bottom-up, grassroots approach to assure that each village receives the tools and services they need most. Additionally, the Global Cocoa Project is forging relationships with chocolatiers who are working closely with the countries, cooperatives and villages from where they source their cocoa. So far the following chocolatiers have been identified: Alter Eco Fair Trade, Amano, Bonnat, El Ceibo, Equal Exchange, Green & Blacks, Kallari, Kopali Organics, Madécasse, MOHO, Pacari, Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates, Taza,Tcho and Valrhona.