Divine buys first Fairtrade cocoa from Sierra Leone
The first container of cocoa from Sierra Leone’s only Fairtrade certified cooperative, Kpeya Agricultural Enterprise (KAE), has been bought by Divine Chocolate. Kuapa Kokoo, the Ghanaian co-operative that owns 45% of Divine Chocolate, agreed to Divine buying this shipment of cocoa from their fellow farmers in Sierra Leone.
Sophi Tranchell, Divine Chocolate’s managing director, says, “KAE’s achievement in both creating a cooperative and trading company, and meeting all the criteria necessary to be Fairtrade certified, is to be celebrated. This move builds on the advances made by Fairtrade and is an example of certified farmers being in a position to help and support their fellow farmers in other regions and countries. With this cocoa from KAE we are extending our reach beyond Ghana.”
KAE has over 1200 members and 50 village committees. It was first established in 1996 and with the help of Twin (the Fair Trade NGO behind Cafedirect, Divine Chocolate and Liberation Nuts), and other organisations such as the UN FAO and German Agro Action, KAE has trained farmers how to produce good quality cocoa, developed democratic structures, and learned how to export its own cocoa. The cocoa exported from Sierra Leone each year is generally intended for bulk use. The members of KAE have been learning how to improve the quality through more careful fermentation and drying, and how to do their own quality checks.
