The cocoa farmers children asked;
What happens to our beans after they leave our farms?
Chocolate Has a Name (CHAN) are here to answer this question, using cocoa as a creative tool in building an equitable economy.
CHAN are a collective of individuals with cocoa farming heritage, cocoa farmers, chocolate makers, trade Justice campaigners and allies along the cocoa value chain who seek to create an equitable economy in cocoa growing communities across West Africa, through cocoa processing and value addition at the basic level of their education.
During Culturedale CHAN put on a range of activities for the people of Calderdale, including 2 events I was fortunate to be a part of. The first of which was a Pod breaking ceremony at Hebden Bridge Town Hall with spoken-word poetry, storytelling and an opportunity to hear about the experience of the festival.
For the End Of… Celebration in May I was grateful to be asked to volunteer to support the screening of a film about cocoa farming in Ghana, during which the Wells of Reparation (a sculpture made using traditional methods in Ghana) was on display and visitors were given the opportunity to buy a chocolate bar made in Ghana and wrapped in original artwork from the festival – all proceeds of sale go to the building of a chocolate lab for cocoa farming in Ghana.
The screening highlighted the injustices cocoa farmers and their families face whilst big companies in the UK greenwash under the label of Fairtrade.
More information about CHAN can be found here. The film can be watched via this link.