19 November 2009
To mark Social Enterprise Day on 19th November 2009, Trading Visions has created new educational resources that put a strong case for more socially responsible ways of doing business. Trading Visions, the education charity set up by Divine Chocolate to put the case for fair trade and amplify the voices of cocoa farmers in West Africa, has published two clear and engaging presentations explaining social enterprise for students at Key Stages 3 and 4. Available to download free from the Trading Visions website, the presentations use Divine Chocolate as a business case study and are designed to fill a double lesson.
Trading Visions was established in 2003 to build on a long-standing nationwide Fairtrade education initiative undertaken in partnership between Comic Relief, Divine Chocolate and Kuapa Kokoo, the Ghanaian cocoa farmers co-operative who co-own Divine Chocolate. This partnership was behind the very popular Papapaa multi-media resource pack that has been used by hundreds of schools nationwide to introduce students to the world behind the chocolate they enjoy, and the unfair trade terms that farmers in developing countries face.
Divine Chocolate was announced Best Social Enterprise 2007 and has been actively involved in the promotion of social enterprise in the UK – working with the Government and business community.
Sophi Tranchell, MD of Divine Chocolate Ltd and Social Enterprise Ambassador, says: “From the start one of Divine’s key objectives was to use the engaging power of chocolate to create greater awareness across all age groups of the way business is done, and the ways it could be done better. Trading Visions was established to build on our work with teachers and young people. These new teaching tools give a clear and well-illustrated guide to how Divine has championed a new kind of business for the 21st century explained in terms relevant to young people today.”
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For further information contact Charlotte Borger on 0207 378 6550
Editor’s notes:
Trading Visions is an independent charity set up by Divine Chocolate Ltd in 2003 to build on the award-winning Fairtrade education work undertaken in partnership between Comic Relief, Kuapa Kokoo cocoa co-operative and Divine and Dubble Fairtrade chocolate. Trading Visions has a track record in using innovative new technologies to amplify the voices of small-scale producers in the supply chain, bringing producers and consumers face to face in fun and accessible educational experiences that challenge and change consumer behaviour and industry practice.
For details of other education resources contact Tom Allen Trading Visions Project and Policy Manager
Divine Chocolate Ltd is co-owned by Kuapa Kokoo, a co-operative of 45,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana who grow the Fairtrade beans for Divine and Dubble, and who share in the profits.
All Divine and Dubble 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.
Pa Pa Paa LIVE! and Papapaa.org for Pa Pa Paa teaching resources, lesson plans and DVD.
• Pa Pa Paa means ‘best of the best’ in ‘Twi’, the language of Ghanaian cocoa farmers, and is the slogan of the Ghanaian Kuapa Kokoo cocoa cooperative.
Comic Relief has a serious commitment to tackling poverty and social injustice.The money raised during our two major fundraising campaigns, Red Nose Day and Sport Relief funds projects across the UK and in some of the poorest countries in the world. Young people and teachers have played a vital role, with thousands of UK schools taking part every year. As well as making grants and raising awareness, Comic Relief is constantly looking for long-term solutions to the bigger problems that keep some of the world’s poorest people poor, such as fairer trade.