The Story of Kuapa Kokoo
Farmers Fair Trade Cooperative
Tetteh Quarshie
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In 1879 a man from Ghana named Tetteh
Quarshie first brought cocoa to Ghana from
Equatorial Guinea.
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Since then cocoa from Ghana has developed
a global reputation for its quality and its taste.
A main export


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Today cocoa is one of Ghana’s main exports.
Ghana is the second largest exporter of
cocoa in the world.
Most of the cocoa is grown by small-scale
family farmers on 4-5 acres of land.
Risky business
Cocoa farming is a risky business.
The trees are vulnerable to various diseases
and pests.
The cocoa price often dips too low for cocoa
small-scale farmers to survive.
Bounced Checks

Farmers are often paid by local cocoa buyers
using checks or vouchers, which the farmers
then can’t cash, or which bounce.
Control of the scale

Farmers are often underpaid by local cocoa
buyers using ‘fixed’ scales, set to show a
lower reading than the actual weight of their
cocoa beans.
Voices not heard

Farmers are often left out of the decisionmaking process.
Their voices are not heard.
Solving the problem
Nana Frimpong Abrebrese

A number of farmers, including a visionary
farmer representative on the Ghana Cocoa
Board took action.
Nana Frimpong Abrebrese came to realize
that ordinary farmers had the opportunity to
organize farmers and address the problems
farmers faced.
Their own buying company
The farmers set up a buying company that
would be run by farmers and for their benefit.
The company would be a Fair Trade
cooperative that adhered to Fair Trade
principles.
Fair Trade Principles
Fair price: minimum floor price, an additional premium for certified
organic products, pre-harvest credit.
Fair labor conditions: safe working conditions, and living wages. Forced
child labor is strictly prohibited.
Direct trade: importers purchase from producer groups
eliminating middlemen who might cheat them.
Democratic and transparent organizations: farm workers decide
democratically how to invest Fair Trade revenues.
Community development: farmers invest Fair Trade premiums in
social and business projects that ….
Environmental sustainability: Harmful chemicals are strictly prohibited
in favor of environmentally sustainable green farming methods
Good cocoa growers
These farmers pooled resources to set up a farmers'
cooperative.
The farmers named their Fair Trade company,
Kuapa Kokoo.
Kuapa Kokoo means “good cocoa growers.”
Their own cooperative
Kuapa Kokoo would buy and sell their
cocoa beans, and thus manage the selling
process more efficiently than the
government cocoa agents.
A Fair Scale
Kaupaa set up its own scale.
Village Recorder
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Kuapa put power over the scales in the
hands of farmers by making sure that
each village not only had its own scale
but the village elected a clerk or village
recorder.
The Cooperative
As people realized the Kaupa scales
were fair and there was no cheating,
more farmers joined the cooperative.
Today more than 1,000 farmers make
up the Kaupa Kokoo cooperative.
Kaupa’s Mission
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Kaupa seeks to empower farmers in
their efforts to gain a dignified
livelihood.
To increase women's participation in all
of Kuapa's activities
To develop environmentally friendly
cultivation of cocoa.
Greater Benefits

Through its commitment to Fair Trade and sale
of cocoa to the Fair Trade market, Kuapa Kokoo
is able to return greater benefits to cocoa
farmers. Its membership is still growing.
Chocolate company of their own!

In 1997, at their annual general meeting, the
farmers of Kuapa Kokoo voted to set up a
manufacturing company that would make
and sell chocolate bars.
Divine Chocolate Company is born

With investment from The Body Shop and
Twin Trading, and support from Comic Relief
and Christian Aid, Divine Chocolate was
born.
Divine Chocolate in DC
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In 2007 Divine Chocolate launched a
company in the USA based in Washington
DC
The owners of the Culture Shop in DC speak
with Comfort Kumeah of Kuapa Kokoo
Buy Fair Trade

You can help improve the lives of farmers
and their families by buying Fair Trade
Chocolate!
The End