Thursday 7th March 2019
Chocolate Chip Cookies or Shortbread biscuits 40p each.
25 February – 10 March 2019
For two weeks each year, thousands of individuals, companies and groups across the UK, including St Mary's, come together to celebrate the people who grow our food, people who live in some of the poorest countries in the world and who are often exploited and badly paid. This year we are focusing on the people – in particular the women – who grow the cocoa in the chocolate we love so much.
£1.86* is the amount a cocoa farmer in West Africa needs to earn each day in order to achieve a living income. Currently, a typical cocoa farmer in Cote d’Ivoire lives on around 74p a day. Almost all cocoa farmers in West Africa live in poverty.
For the women the situation is even worse. They may plant and harvest on the farm, look after children, carry water, collect wood, cook and clean for the family, and transport the cocoa beans to market but often with fewer rights than men.
This is why we support Fairtrade, who are campaigning for a living income to become a reality for cocoa farmers in West Africa. If they can work together with governments, chocolate companies and retailers to make the commitments and policies necessary, then we can make it happen.