| In the Ashanti region of Ghana, the Kuapa Kokoo fair trade co-operative has improved the lives of thousands of small-scale cocoa farmers
Established in 1993, the co-operative has grown substantially and now involves more than 40,000 farmers. Because it is owned and managed by the farmers themselves, the co-operative has taken advantage of market opportunities to build sustainable livelihoods for its members. They are proud of the quality of cocoa they produce: Kuapa Kokoo means ‘good cocoa farmers’ and their slogan is ‘Pa Pa Paa’ (‘best of the best’).
In the late 1980s, cocoa farmers were often cheated over the weight of their crops, and received a price too small to meet their basic needs. When the Kuapa Kokoo co-operative began, they gained the farmers’ trust by using accurate weighing scales and paying them for their product on collection.
Initially Kuapa found it difficult to secure the trading licence they needed to sell their cocoa to the government. As farmers they did not meet many of the requirements, such as owning assets or being a limited company. To overcome this, several farmers invested their own property in the company and secured a loan from UK-based fair trade organisation Twin Trading.
In 1998 Kuapa took the huge step of launching Divine Chocolate in association with Twin trading and the Body Shop. The Kuapa farmers own one-third of the fair trade chocolate company, get a share of the profits, and have a say in how the company is run. They now sell three per cent of their cocoa harvest to the fair trade market, investing the premium that this offers in their own social development.
Lucy Mansa works on the Kuapa co-operative, and says her life has become much easier with the arrival of a fair trade market.
“We rely on the money we get from cocoa for everything: for food, clothes, medicines, and school fees. Getting payment for our cocoa beans used to be very hit and miss. When we didn’t get paid, we went without. Kuapa Kokoo pays all its farmers a fair price for their crop, in cash and on time. I am very happy; since I joined the co-operative I can afford to send my children to school.”
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