Where is the chocolate???

Unless you want to drink instant coffee (I just can’t), there is hardly any coffee at all to be found in Ghana. Same goes with chocolate- you can buy pricey imported chocolate at the international market, but other than that there is one type of chocolate that is locally produced and available for purchase here (and it too is very expensive.)

THIS MAKES NO SENSE, seeing as Africa in general and West Africa in particular produces massive amounts of coffee beans and cocoa beans. We are RIGHT HERE, and yet it is unavailable!

This is because most of the coffee/ cocoa is sold to other countries, mainly in the west. Many of my professors have talked about how this is contributing to the economic disparity of Ghana and other African nations- they don’t benefit from their own products.

So… I implore you to buy fair trade coffee (and teas). It is usually not that much more expensive than normal coffee anyway, and it is more ethically purchased, allowing farmers to make living wages. The system isn’t perfect, but it’s a start. You can read more here:

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/products/retail_products/default.aspx

One important note: STARBUCKS COFFEE IS NOT FAIR TRADE. While they claim to have ‘ethically purchased’ 60% of their coffee beans (which isn’t even that great) they only purchase 3% of their coffee fair trade. There are a lot of great (and local!) coffee shops that serve fair trade coffee and often at even lower prices than at Starbucks.

And if you attend a church where coffee is served, or if coffee is provided for you at school/ work, discuss purchasing only fair trade with the person in charge- it makes a huge difference. (Especially at churches- it is sad to me that we drink coffee every Sunday that is enjoyed at the expense of poorer nations.)

I realize that there are a lot of ‘popular’ causes to support, and in this economy something as simple as coffee seems to be an easy place to save money. I assure you, this problem is real and it is important. If you really can’t afford the switch, cut out the coffee altogether! It’d be better for you anyway ;)