FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT 22 February – 7th March 2010

Young Londoners compose their own Fairtrade anthems for a performance at the Barbican Centre

As a grand finale to their Fairtrade Fortnight tour this year, Divine Chocolate, the leading 100% Fairtrade chocolate company owned by cocoa farmers, is delighted to announce a special concert at the Barbican Centre, composed and performed by young Londoners. 

The concert will take place at 2.30pm on Sunday 7th March in the Barbican’s Conservatory. Seats are free, but limited. Contact the box office for details on 0845 120 7550

With the support of Divine, young people from youth groups in the City of London have collaborated with Guildhall Connect professional workshop leaders from The Guildhall School of Music & Drama to compose and perform a concert inspired by the themes of Fairtrade. This performance will explore the fusion of African drumming, MC-ing and song writing and will be introduced by cocoa farmers from the cooperative in Ghana that co-owns Divine.

Comfort Kumeah and Kojo Aduhene-Tano, the two cocoa farmers from Ghana, will be in UK to join Divine on a tour of the UK.  They are here as ambassadors of their cooperative, to tell their own personal stories, and also to broadcast the unique story of how their co-operative (called Kuapa Kokoo) came to own 45% of Divine Chocolate – and the many benefits that ownership has brought to them and their communities. 

As well as London, the Divine farmers’ tour will be stopping over in Leicester, Stamford in Lincolnshire, and the Channel Islands.  Divine has been supported by Fairtrade Steering Committees in each location to arrange a variety of special events, talking to schoolchildren, shoppers and retailers, church groups and local businesses, government officials and Fairtrade Steering Groups.  And there will be plenty of Divine chocolate to go around!

Full details can be found on the Events Calendar page of the Divine Chocolate website.  

Divine Chocolate is the leading Fairtrade chocolate company, and the only Fairtrade chocolate company co-owned by cocoa farmers. Ever since the company was established, farmers have been invited over to join Divine in touring UK and Ireland to support and celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight with local government officials, schools, churches, retailers and the chocolate loving public.  The tours continue to prove a hugely popular opportunity for people in all walks of life to hear more about farmers’ lives firsthand.  It in turn gives the farmers an insight into our love of chocolate, and how many people here in Britain want to make trade fair.

As well as speaking and attending events during Fairtrade Fortnight, there will be plenty of opportunities to savour Divine, the heavenly chocolate with a heart, made using only the very finest cocoa beans grown by farmers like Comfort Kumeah and Kojo Aduhene-Tano.  Farmers who belong to Kuapa Kokoo take their slogan ‘Pa pa paa’ (which means ‘Best of the best’) very seriously, and they will be very pleased that ambassadors are coming to the UK to tell the Divine story to the public as well as sharing out their very special chocolate.

Divine Chocolate Ltd is the only Fairtrade chocolate company that is also co-owned by cocoa farmers. Kuapa Kokoo, a co-operative of 45,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana, benefit not only  from the Fairtrade premium on the sale of their beans, but also receive a 45% share of Divine’s distributable profits giving the farmers more economic stability, as well as the increased influence in the cocoa industry company-ownership brings

Keep up to date with Divine online:

Everything you need to know about Divine: www.divinechocolate.com

For Divine gifts: www.divinechocolateshop.com

Follow the Divine blog: http://divinedelights.wordpress.com

Follow Divine on Twitter: www.twitter.com/divinechocolate

For sales and stockist enquiries contact alistair@divinechocolate.com or find more details on www.divinechocolate.com

All Divine products carry the Fairtrade Mark. This is an independent guarantee certified by the Fairtrade Foundation that the ingredients are sourced under internationally agreed fair trade terms and conditions. These include a guaranteed, secure minimum price, an extra social premium payment for the farmers to invest in their own community programmes, long term trading contracts, decent health and safety conditions – all aimed at empowering farmers to make their own improvements to living standards and prospects for the future

Divine Chocolate has won a number of prestigious awards.  These include Good Housekeeping’s Favourite Fairtrade Product 2008; Best Food Brand in the SHE magazine Ethical Awards 2007; and Best Buy in Ethical Consumer magazine 2009.  Divine Chocolate Ltd was awarded Best Social Enterprise 2007 at the Enterprising Solutions awards run by the Office of the Third Sector and The Observer Best Ethical Business 2008.  Divine has been voted a Cool Brand 2009-10.

The UK chocolate market alone is worth approximately £3.5 billion a year: if Fairtrade products can capture even a small proportion of that market, producers in developing countries gain real benefits.

The Sunday 7 March concert is part of the Barbican’s annual Do Something Different Weekend (www.barbican.org.uk/different) and part of East, Mayor of London’s East is a six-day festival that celebrates the uniquely rich creative mix of East London. It takes place over six days from Thursday 4 March to Tuesday 9 March. 

The Barbican Centre is one of the world’s leading arts centres, founded and run by the City of London Corporation as part of its contribution to the cultural life of London and the nations. The Centre provides all the arts - music, theatre, dance, cinema, the visual arts and education - under one roof and one creative direction. For more information visit: www.barbican.org.uk