THE GLOBAL COCOA PROJECT

COTE D'IVOIRE * MADAGASCAR * ECUADOR * GRENADA

The Global Cocoa Project is a collaborative initiative produced by Project Hope & Fairness and the Global Giving Circle.

Our goal is to provide cocoa farmers around the world with the tools they need to improve the quality of their cocoa production. Additionally, we will be providing basic needs such as wells and sanitation systems which will radically impact their daily lives and those of their families. Secondly, we aim to educate Americans about the realities of the cocoa industry and leverage the power of knowledgeable, concerned consumers to help make cocoa growing a profitable and sustainable occupation.

The Global Cocoa Project

The chocolate industry is a $15 billion business in the US alone. Annually, Americans consume nearly half of all of the chocolate produced in the world, 2.8 billion pounds. Africa became the world's major supplier of cocoa. Since the 1930s, its exports have accounted for more than 60% of the world's total cocoa supply. Cote d'Ivoire is a major player in the chocolate market, supplying up to 43% of the world's cocoa beans, and as much as 75% of the beans used in American chocolate. There are approximately 600,000 cocoa farmers in Cote d'Ivoire.

African cocoa growers have not reaped the benefits of Africa's domination of the cocoa market. Farmers and their families living in the 6,000 cocoa-producing villages in Cote d'Ivoire are struggling to meet basic needs. Without adequate housing, clothing, or latrines, they suffer from multiple health problems such as malaria 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 Cote d'Ivoire, approximately one-third of children ages 6 to 17 who live in cocoa-producing households have never attended school.

For three years, Project Hope and Fairness (PH&F) has been bringing tools to cocoa farming villages. PH&F's contributions to ten villages show that providing such tools helps farmers produce higher quality cocoa beans, resulting in a better price for the cocoa and more economic stability for the farmers and their families. For example, the dryness meter (an instrument which is used to produce high quality cocoa) they brought to the village of Depa in 2008 resulted in their cocoa being recognized by local cocoa-buying middlemen as the best in the region.

How The Global Cocoa Project Began

In February 2009, the Global Giving Circle (GGC) - a network of individuals who come together to support creative solutions to alleviate poverty - held a chocolate tasting fundraising event on Valentine's Day in New York City to benefit Project Hope & Fairness. Fifteen chocolatiers and bakeries from New York including Jacques Torres, Marie Belle, Vere, Theo, and the renowned bakery Baked participated. Among the participants was Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates, owned by Tom Neuhaus, founder of Project Hope & Fairness.

The event raised $5,500 for PH&F, mostly from $25 donations. PH&F used the money to support cocoa farmers in Cote d'Ivoire by digging a well in Broguhe and purchasing three scales for neighboring villages: Abekro, Broguhe, and Pezoan. The well in Broguhe not only provided essential water for the village, but also significantly reduced the time women in the village spent collecting water. With this new-found time, they have begun to focus their energies on building small businesses. Before owning scales, cocoa farmers in the villages of Abekro, Broguhe, and Pezoan relied on the middlemen who purchase their cocoa to weigh the product to determine how much it was worth. It was a common practice for these middlemen to weigh the cocoa off-site and cheat the farmers, claiming that the cocoa weighed less than it actually did. Owning scales now enables local farmers to receive a fair price for their cocoa each time they make a sale. The women of these villages also use the scales to weigh other crops like African yams, rice, and cassava, which they sell in the local markets.

To see video shorts about the well and scales donation please visit: www.youtube.com/globalgivingcircle.

Spreading Hope and Fairness throughout Global Cocoa Villages

After the well was installed and the three scales were delivered, PH&F and Global Giving Circle decided to ramp up the fundraising effort and include other chocolatiers who are concerned about the farmers who produce the cocoa they use in their products. Outreach to other companies has just begun and the chocolatiers who have signed on include Madecasse (Madagascar), Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates (Cote d'Ivoire) and Gnosis Chocolate (Ecuador, Grenada). With the help of these chocolatiers, the GGC will begin to replicate its successful model, sharing it with other giving circles throughout the United States.

The first stage fundraising strategy is to engage the 600+ giving circles across the United States, inviting them to host fundraisers for the participating GCP partners. Each giving circle will "adopt" a cocoa-producing village and the money raised will provide each village with whatever combination suplies are needed - wells, scales, several public latrines, dryness meters (necessary to ensure the quality of the cocoa), boots for farmers, organic insecticides and fungicides. The GGC will provide each giving circle with a toolkit explaining how to produce a chocolate tasting fundraiser for their community and how the money will be used.

For more information on the 2009 event please click here.

On February 11th, 2010 we will be participating in a chocolate and wine tasting at the Hudson Terrace, a beautiful venue in New York overlooking the river. The Global Giving Circle has been selected by the event organizers as their non-profit partner and 15% of the ticket sales will be donated to us for this project.

Our chocolate sponsors include Bond Street Chocolate, Cocoa Dolce Artisan Chocolates, Coppeneur USA, Divine Chocolate, Gnosis Chocolate, Lake Champlain Chocolates, Kallari Chocolates, Kama Sutra, Madecasse, Roni Sue's Chocolates, Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates, and Tcho.

For more information click here.

PROJECT HOPE & FAIRNESS

Founded in 2006 by Tom Neuhaus, Project Hope & Fairness (PH&F) is a non-profit organization that assists African cocoa farmers who suffer disproportionately from the inequities in the world cocoa trade. The primary mission of PH&F is to enhance the sustainability of West African cocoa villages. They are currently focusing their efforts in Cote d'Ivoire, the source of as much as 75% of the cocoa beans used to make the chocolate Americans consume.

PH&F's support for farmers comes in the form of tools and infrastructure such as solar dryers for cocoa beans, scales in insure farmers are not cheated by middlemen, and wells, which provide fresh water to villages. Additionally, PH&F provides the farmers with education and training. Within the US, PH&F provides American consumers with information about the injustices endured by cocoa farmers and encourages producers of cocoa products to adopt Fair Trade policies.

Tom is also the owner of Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates, an online chocolate company with a retail shop in San Luis Obisbo, California.

For more information please visit: Project Hope & Fairness

THE GLOBAL GIVING CIRCLE

The Global Giving Circle is a network of professionals based in New York who come together to support creative and innovative solutions to alleviate poverty through tangible grassroots initiatives both nationally and internationally. The GGC was founded in 2009 by Shana Dressler, a multi-media producer and consultant to non-profit arts and media organizations. The idea for the GGC came to Shana as a result of her consultant work with the Peabody award winning satellite TV station, Link TV. The GGC has raised money and awareness for 15 non-profits and social enterprises working in the areas of human rights, the water crisis, global warming, youth education and leadership with a focus on female empowerment and social entrepreneurship. In December Global Gifts That Matter was launched, an online gift emporium which supports high impact non-profits and social enterprises through the sales of gifts and gift donations. For more information please visit: www.globalgiftsthatmatter.org