All the way from Chocolate Island!

With hurtling price rises affecting smallholder cocoa growers all over the world, and factors like climate change playing havoc with supply chains, here’s some good news from the tiny African island nation of São Tomé and Principe, who have joined the Fairtrade family.

Situated just off the west coast, São Tomé, also known as Chocolate Island, is the second smallest African country with a population of just 170,000. It’s famous for its high quality cocoa beans with the combination of its location on the equator, rich soils and the perfect balance of temperature, humidity and forest shade. But until now, the island’s growers have been unable to harness their fair share of the benefits these beans can bring.

Cafédirect has been working closely with 11 grower associations in villages around the Agua Izé region for the past three years. Before Cafédirect arrived, the growers would sell raw cocoa straight from the pods at the side of the road to middlemen. Cafédirect has supported the growers by bringing the 11 villages together to form a co-operative, which is now Fairtrade certified, and enabling them to trade directly on the international market.

As a result of new equipment and training for the growers they are now able to dry and ferment the cocoa bean and get five times as much as for the raw cocoa! The final stage of the process was supporting them to get Fairtrade certification so that Cafédirect could buy the cocoa to develop São Tomé Instant Hot Chocolate.

Download the story of Cafédirect’s work in São Tomé.
Watch a short video from São Tomé here.