A cocoa farmer from West Africa is in Calgary to enlist Canadians support for fair trade.
James Mensah says fair trade has made a huge difference for his community in Ghana.
"We invest in clean water wells, mobile clinics, education buildings, schools, and education," said Mensah.
Mensah is just one of Ghana's fair trade cocoa farmers that supplies cocoa to Cadbury for its dairy milk chocolate bar.
Cadbury has received fair trade certification and is bringing the fair trade item to the mainstream market. Cadbury now buys triple the amount of cocoa from farmers in Ghana.
"We're the first to sort of announce that fair trade chocolate is now available everywhere you've gone to buy your favorite products. Now you can purchase fair trade chocolate at your local store and feel proud that you're making a difference in the lives of farmers half a world away," commented Michelle Lefler with Cadbury.
Mensah is on a Canada-wide tour to ensure Canadians not only better understand fair trade, but see the big impact small purchases can make.
"My community has a clean water well. Before we used to fetch water at the stream and it would give us diseases, but through this fair trade organization we've got a clean water well there and this disease is abolished. Now we're drinking good water," said Mensah.
Cadbury is selling its fair trade certified chocolate bar in five countries including Canada and the U.K.
Mensah says the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Cooperative in Ghana has been able to assist thousands of families.
Mensah will be in Edmonton on Tuesday.
For more information about the cooperative in Ghana, you can log on to www.kuapakokoo.com or for information on Cadbury's fair trade certification, go to www.chocolate.ca.
