i need cocoa dealers on here interested firm or companies so pls visit my business website to see few of our many available products......i hope to receive a good responses...here is my web address www.paloo.page.tl
i need cocoa dealers on here interested firm or companies so pls visit my business website to see few of our many available products......i hope to receive a good responses...here is my web address www.paloo.pa
On July 16, 2008, the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers “Ending Global Slavery” Competition and would like to pass on the following feedback for your entry. Thank you for applying and for your hard work in the field. We are excited to archive your entry to serve as a leading solution for the worldwide community of innovators who are exposing, confronting and ending modern day slavery. We wish you continued luck with your sustainable, innovative, and socially impactful initiatives.
All the best, The Changemakers Team
“This project is ambitious in that it is working to address a widespread global issue by encouraging chocolate companies to take responsibility for ending the oppression of children. It addresses the “middleman” issue by working to empower farmers at the local level while also trying to create partnerships with mainstream stores. We should connect them with other businesses to expand their reach: first, Ruth Pojman would like them to link with a chocolate store in Vienna, near the OSCE office.”
“If fair trade becomes widespread and influences the humane manufacturing of products sold globally, this initiative can promote great social impact by a certification program that ensures that other companies are not contributing to the problem. With a significant budget and great potential for sustainability, this is the opportunity to promote large-scale impact with Nestle. If customers insist on only purchasing chocolate produced through fair trade, large cocoa companies will change their practices and follow the lead of TransFair USA.”
- Changemakers “Ending Global Slavery” Judges: United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking, International Organization for Migration, Design Within Reach, Vital Voices Global Partnership, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Humanity United.
----------
The Changemakers Team
Ashoka's Changemakers
Hello Daniel,
Could you please share a story describing the ways in which a family or a community have benefited from Transfair's work?
Thank you!
Dana Frasz
Ashoka's Changemakers
Fair Trade Certified cocoa's most positive impacts are perhaps best described at the cooperative level---along with individual farmers and their families, entire communities can benefit from the proceeds from Fair Trade Certified cocoa.
Kavokiva, in the Daloa region of Côte d’Ivoire, has seen tremendous growth, from 600 members to over 6,000 members today. The cooperative has publicly acknowledged Fair Trade's power to increase incomes and opportunities while fighting against child exploitation. Kavokiva President Fulgence N'Guessan says, "Fair Trade is a unique solution to improve our living conditions and fight against abusive child labor. We will fight with the help of the Fair Trade network to improve the lives or our members."
Kavokiva has been recognized by the Ivoirian government and by key NGOs as one of the most transparent and effective cooperative organizations in the country, high praise in a region known for extensive corruption. The region’s climate and terrain are also ideal for quality cocoa production.
Protecting children and providing them with opportunities has been among Kavokiva’s most important efforts. The cooperative maintains a very active anti-child-labor education program for members and their neighbors. Kavokiva also identifies families who are unable to afford school, and registers their children for school or vocational training, as well as providing scholarships. The cooperative has also provided health and wellness infrastructure benefiting members and their neighbors.
In Ghana, the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative has been breaking social and economic barriers for cocoa farmers in West Africa through Fair Trade since 1993. Fair Trade premiums from U.S. and European markets provide money to educate farmers’ children, build and maintain health facilities, and provide access to a credit union. Kuapa Kokoo owns 33% of international chocolatier Divine Chocolate, one of the most popular and respected Fair Trade brands in the UK, with a growing U.S. presence as well. Thanks to Fair Trade, Kuapa Kokoo member Francis Bediako-Manu's sons, like those of many neighbors, have been able to attend high school.
The film Black Gold exposes the slave labor in the Ethiopian coffee business, but I'm sure it's quite similar to the exploitation of cocoa farmers in West Africa. Although some stores now offer fair trade chocolate, it would be wonderful to see major industries like Hershey's and Nestle adhering to the Cocoa Protocol (although I've heard that Hershey's is making strides). Great work and keep the pressure up!
Thank you for your comments. It is true that coffee farmers around the world--like most smallholder farmers in the developing world who depend on export markets for their livelihoods--often face real struggles in terms of market access and sustainable livelihoods. That represents one of the main reasons TransFair USA and our fellow Fair Trade labeling initiatives in other countries do our work: since 1998, coffee farmers in Ethiopia and dozens of other countries have earned more than $100 million in additional income from the U.S. Fair Trade Certified coffee market alone. Tadesse Meskela, of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, profiled in Black Gold, is a good friend of TransFair USA's, and a major advocate for Fair Trade internationally. His cooperative plays an important role in the U.S. Fair Trade Certified coffee market.
Fair Trade Certified coffee has made real inroads into some major, mainstream companies' business models in recent years, both in the U.S. and internationally, and we are confident that if TransFair USA and our allies can obtain the proper resources to invest in farmers' business capacities, the quality of their products, and the development of U.S. market opportunities, similar mainstreaming is possible for Fair Trade Certified cocoa in the future.
The need to address the root causes of child labor and exploitation- mainly poverty- can not be overstated. I commend the efforts of TransFair USA. Though I can see the pathway through which your program would ultimately decrease child labor- by decreasing overall demand- I was wondering if you have systems in place to actually measure and evaluate the impact of your programs on child labor in the areas where you work.
Thanks!
Laura cardinal Public Health and Human Trafficking specialist
Thank you very much for your comments. International teams of inspectors visit participating cooperatives on an annual basis, and in cases of suspected non-compliance--either with Fair Trade standards of democratic and transparent governance, or legal requirements--surprise inspections also take place. Violation of child labor laws carries the threat of immediate suspension from participation in the world Fair Trade market.
Cooperatives are also required to provide their colleagues within the global Fair Trade system with written development plans they intend to implement using Fair Trade premiums and revenues, and regular updates on their progress. In West Africa, these plans without exception include education programs, and most co-ops we work with track school attendance among their members' children. In Cote d'Ivoire in particular, cooperative leaders have been very active in creating and implementing awareness-building campaigns for their communities about the threat of child exploitation.
In short, we work in very close partnership with the cooperatives we serve in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, and we rely heavily on them to ensure compliance with all applicable labor laws. It is true that many of our anti-trafficking efforts depend in large part on self-monitoring, but we are inspired by the sincere commitment that our cooperative partners have demonstrated in this area, fueled by the additional revenues we help to provide.
i need cocoa dealers on here interested firm or companies so pls visit my business website to see few of our many available products......i hope to receive a good responses...here is my web address www.paloo.page.tl
i need cocoa dealers on here interested firm or companies so pls visit my business website to see few of our many available products......i hope to receive a good responses...here is my web address www.paloo.pa
On July 16, 2008, the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers “Ending Global Slavery” Competition and would like to pass on the following feedback for your entry. Thank you for applying and for your hard work in the field. We are excited to archive your entry to serve as a leading solution for the worldwide community of innovators who are exposing, confronting and ending modern day slavery. We wish you continued luck with your sustainable, innovative, and socially impactful initiatives.
All the best, The Changemakers Team
“This project is ambitious in that it is working to address a widespread global issue by encouraging chocolate companies to take responsibility for ending the oppression of children. It addresses the “middleman” issue by working to empower farmers at the local level while also trying to create partnerships with mainstream stores. We should connect them with other businesses to expand their reach: first, Ruth Pojman would like them to link with a chocolate store in Vienna, near the OSCE office.”
“If fair trade becomes widespread and influences the humane manufacturing of products sold globally, this initiative can promote great social impact by a certification program that ensures that other companies are not contributing to the problem. With a significant budget and great potential for sustainability, this is the opportunity to promote large-scale impact with Nestle. If customers insist on only purchasing chocolate produced through fair trade, large cocoa companies will change their practices and follow the lead of TransFair USA.”
- Changemakers “Ending Global Slavery” Judges: United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking, International Organization for Migration, Design Within Reach, Vital Voices Global Partnership, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Humanity United.
----------
The Changemakers Team
Ashoka's Changemakers
Hello Daniel,
Could you please share a story describing the ways in which a family or a community have benefited from Transfair's work?
Thank you!
Dana Frasz
Ashoka's Changemakers
Hi, Dana,
Fair Trade Certified cocoa's most positive impacts are perhaps best described at the cooperative level---along with individual farmers and their families, entire communities can benefit from the proceeds from Fair Trade Certified cocoa.
Kavokiva, in the Daloa region of Côte d’Ivoire, has seen tremendous growth, from 600 members to over 6,000 members today. The cooperative has publicly acknowledged Fair Trade's power to increase incomes and opportunities while fighting against child exploitation. Kavokiva President Fulgence N'Guessan says, "Fair Trade is a unique solution to improve our living conditions and fight against abusive child labor. We will fight with the help of the Fair Trade network to improve the lives or our members."
Kavokiva has been recognized by the Ivoirian government and by key NGOs as one of the most transparent and effective cooperative organizations in the country, high praise in a region known for extensive corruption. The region’s climate and terrain are also ideal for quality cocoa production.
Protecting children and providing them with opportunities has been among Kavokiva’s most important efforts. The cooperative maintains a very active anti-child-labor education program for members and their neighbors. Kavokiva also identifies families who are unable to afford school, and registers their children for school or vocational training, as well as providing scholarships. The cooperative has also provided health and wellness infrastructure benefiting members and their neighbors.
In Ghana, the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative has been breaking social and economic barriers for cocoa farmers in West Africa through Fair Trade since 1993. Fair Trade premiums from U.S. and European markets provide money to educate farmers’ children, build and maintain health facilities, and provide access to a credit union. Kuapa Kokoo owns 33% of international chocolatier Divine Chocolate, one of the most popular and respected Fair Trade brands in the UK, with a growing U.S. presence as well. Thanks to Fair Trade, Kuapa Kokoo member Francis Bediako-Manu's sons, like those of many neighbors, have been able to attend high school.
The film Black Gold exposes the slave labor in the Ethiopian coffee business, but I'm sure it's quite similar to the exploitation of cocoa farmers in West Africa. Although some stores now offer fair trade chocolate, it would be wonderful to see major industries like Hershey's and Nestle adhering to the Cocoa Protocol (although I've heard that Hershey's is making strides). Great work and keep the pressure up!
Dear Becky,
Thank you for your comments. It is true that coffee farmers around the world--like most smallholder farmers in the developing world who depend on export markets for their livelihoods--often face real struggles in terms of market access and sustainable livelihoods. That represents one of the main reasons TransFair USA and our fellow Fair Trade labeling initiatives in other countries do our work: since 1998, coffee farmers in Ethiopia and dozens of other countries have earned more than $100 million in additional income from the U.S. Fair Trade Certified coffee market alone. Tadesse Meskela, of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, profiled in Black Gold, is a good friend of TransFair USA's, and a major advocate for Fair Trade internationally. His cooperative plays an important role in the U.S. Fair Trade Certified coffee market.
Fair Trade Certified coffee has made real inroads into some major, mainstream companies' business models in recent years, both in the U.S. and internationally, and we are confident that if TransFair USA and our allies can obtain the proper resources to invest in farmers' business capacities, the quality of their products, and the development of U.S. market opportunities, similar mainstreaming is possible for Fair Trade Certified cocoa in the future.
Dear Mr. Stokes;
The need to address the root causes of child labor and exploitation- mainly poverty- can not be overstated. I commend the efforts of TransFair USA. Though I can see the pathway through which your program would ultimately decrease child labor- by decreasing overall demand- I was wondering if you have systems in place to actually measure and evaluate the impact of your programs on child labor in the areas where you work.
Thanks!
Laura cardinal Public Health and Human Trafficking specialist
Dear Ms. Cardinal,
Thank you very much for your comments. International teams of inspectors visit participating cooperatives on an annual basis, and in cases of suspected non-compliance--either with Fair Trade standards of democratic and transparent governance, or legal requirements--surprise inspections also take place. Violation of child labor laws carries the threat of immediate suspension from participation in the world Fair Trade market.
Cooperatives are also required to provide their colleagues within the global Fair Trade system with written development plans they intend to implement using Fair Trade premiums and revenues, and regular updates on their progress. In West Africa, these plans without exception include education programs, and most co-ops we work with track school attendance among their members' children. In Cote d'Ivoire in particular, cooperative leaders have been very active in creating and implementing awareness-building campaigns for their communities about the threat of child exploitation.
In short, we work in very close partnership with the cooperatives we serve in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, and we rely heavily on them to ensure compliance with all applicable labor laws. It is true that many of our anti-trafficking efforts depend in large part on self-monitoring, but we are inspired by the sincere commitment that our cooperative partners have demonstrated in this area, fueled by the additional revenues we help to provide.
Best regards,
Daniel