Meet our Producers

Divine Chocolate begins with... Comfort

“Divine has had an important impact on my life,” Comfort says. “Kuapa involves women in all decision making.”

Divine Chocolate has a two-pronged, taste-good, feel-good mission of crafting decadently delicious chocolate while providing cocoa farmers with a steady source of income.

These fine chocolates are made from Ghanaian cocoa, which has a global reputation for quality and taste. Established in 1997 by the Kuapa Kokoo farming cooperative, Divine Chocolate has grown each year, allowing the farmers not only to enjoy personal success, but also to reinvest in their local communities by building schools, sinking wells for clean drinking water, providing mobile medical clinics for farmers in remote growing regions, and fostering projects to help women earn additional income for their families outside of cocoa season.

Since the farmers have an ownership stake in Divine Chocolate, they also have the opportunity to influence how the products are made and sold. Having their voices heard means a lot to cocoa farmers such as Comfort Kumeah, who lives in the Ashanti region of Ghana. She is also a teacher at the local primary school, the loving mother of five and a grandmother. “Divine has had an important impact on my life,” Comfort says. “Kuapa involves women in all decision making.”

Comfort is also serving as elected national secretary for the farmers’ union and the head of the farmers trust. Hers is just one of many heartwarming stories that have resulted from the production of this melt-in-your-mouth chocolate.

Whole Trade Roses begin with... Segundo

“Our greatest desire is to give our little ones an education and see them achieve a professional career.”

Whole Trade roses are blooms with benefits that even outlast their vibrant blossoms. Farmers who grow our eco-friendly, Whole Trade Guaranteed flowers are not only committed to environmental responsibility, they also cultivate better working conditions and equitable wages for farm workers such as Segundo Chancusig.

Segundo is working hard to provide his daughters with the education he never had. After elementary school, Segundo was unable to continue his studies and instead he worked as a bricklayer to help his parents put food on the table. Over the years, he has also worked at other rose farms, but none of them offered the benefits and working environment he now enjoys.

Since joining the farm in 2007, his family’s quality of life has improved—they have hot water at home thanks to low interest rate loans and access to wholesale foods—and his 10-year-old daughter, Eslendy, who dreams of becoming a doctor, attends English courses funded by the rose farm. His 3-year-old daughter, Yessenya, attends pre-kindergarten.

“Our greatest desire is to give our little ones an education and see them achieve a professional career,” Segundo says. Your purchase of Whole Trade roses can brighten a room and go a long way to brighten the future for farm workers living many miles away.

Alter Eco Farms Quinoa begins with... Atilio

“Ask for and purchase more fair trade products . . . to have a direct impact on our everyday lives.”

Alter Eco travels the world, discovering exciting, unique foods and meeting the farmers who grow them. Among them are members of the Anapqui farming cooperative in Bolivia, which sources fair trade, organic quinoa from 1,200 farmers, including Atilio Perez Solis.

Atilio lives with his family in a remote village with no electricity, located 50 miles away from the closest health center. More than half of his earnings go toward his children’s education—all of them are either in university or high school, which is a source of pride for Atilio.

As an organic farmer, Atilio does not use any pesticides, and his llamas provide natural fertilizer for the crops. He has also been able to diversify, cultivating other crops such as barley, corn and potatoes. Atilio works with his 25-year-old son, Zoe, who will eventually take over the farm.

In addition to providing an outlet that pays a fair price for Atilio’s quinoa, Alter Eco also provides technical support, education and transportation for the crops.

“Thanks to [this program] and Alter Eco, we found new markets for our quinoa,” says Santiago Alaez, Atilio’s neighbor. “It also gives hope to the youth, hence providing an incentive for them to stay in the region.” In recent years, young people have left the area in droves seeking opportunity in La Paz, the capital city, but sadly, many end up living in poverty there.

Atilio believes international fair trade programs are a way to create a better future for many of his people. “Please tell the people in the U.S. to support fair trade,” he says. “Ask for and purchase more fair trade products . . . to have a direct impact on our everyday lives.”

Alaffia begins with... Maman

“The salary I receive permits me to resolve my problems. It permits me to get care when I am ill and enables me to take my grandchildren to the hospital in case of sickness.”

Alaffia is changing the face of skin care in the United States and in West Africa. One of those faces belongs to Maman Nafissetou, who works at the Alaffia/Agbanga Shea Butter Cooperative overseeing essential crystallizing and clarification processes.

Fair trade shea butter is the basis for Alaffia’s rich, luxurious and sustainable line of body care products. As a co-op elder, Maman brings sixty years of life experience and a nurturing nature (she is a mother of nine and a grandmother of 41) to work every day. Her smiling face greets each co-worker every morning.

Maman’s day begins before sunrise and often ends after sunset. The crystallizing process (where shea oil is turned into butter) often takes hours and requires constant stirring. Her dedication is evident in the ultra-creamy final product.

In addition to enjoying her job, Maman says, “The salary I receive permits me to resolve my problems. It permits me to get care when I am ill and enables me to take my grandchildren to the hospital in case of sickness.” She is also able to save a quarter of her salary each month and has started several small businesses for her daughters selling palm nuts and oil.

A portion of the sale of all Alaffia products is returned to West Africa to fund community enhancement projects.

Whole Trade Bananas begin with... Ana

Whole Trade Bananas are sourced from growers with a commitment to producing top quality bananas with transparent and responsible environmental and social practices. One of our primary suppliers is EARTH University, a nonprofit university in Costa Rica dedicated to advancing education, entrepreneurship, and sustainable agriculture in the tropics. EARTH University bananas are grown on a Rainforest Alliance certified farm.

At EARTH, students from around the world study a range of subjects related to sustainable development and environmental preservation. Graduates return to their home countries to share their knowledge of innovative agricultural techniques and ethical business practices.

For more than twenty years, EARTH’s farm managers, faculty, students, and graduates, have been experimenting on the on-campus banana farm. The result is commercial banana production that has a significantly reduced impact on the environment, and which strives to have a positive impact on the lives of its employees and their communities.

Ana Laurent Guzman lives in San Luis de Guácimo, Costa Rica and has worked at EARTH’s banana farm for 6 years. When asked what it means to work at EARTH, Ana answered: “It’s very important because the quality of life that this job gives us is very good. We have many benefits and advantages for us and for our families, and the treatment we receive as workers is very good. In brief I can say I’m proud to work at EARTH."

All of EARTH’s profits from the sale of its bananas support the school and provide much needed student scholarships. For more information please visit www.earth-brand.org.

WHOLE TRADE FLOWERS BEGIN WITH...MARIA

“Our farm is filled with people who love their job and are very devoted to produce the best and most beautiful flowers that we can.”

Grown on farms in Colombia and Ecuador, Whole Trade flowers are truly gifts that give back. Meet Maria, who lives in Juan Pablo Sesundo, Colombia and works on one such farm where natural resources are conserved and the rights and welfare of workers and local communities are protected. “Every day I come to work with a positive attitude filled with love that makes me want to do my best” says Maria, who works in alstromeria production and has been working on the farm for 11 years. “Our farm is filled with people who love their job and are very devoted to produce the best and most beautiful flowers that we can”.

Maria’s family has benefited from the farm’s foundation, which has provided her children with an education, daily meals and healthcare. “This has been a blessing for me and my family. Thanks to the foundation I was able to give my three children the best possible education. Without the foundation this would not be possible”. Each purchase of Whole Trade guarantee flowers supports the farm’s foundation and families such as Maria’s.

Maria’s two sons currently attend the foundation; while her oldest daughter graduated from the foundation and is now continuing her studies. “Our children are given not only a good education but are provided with daily good balanced meals. This has taught good values and makes us feel part of the farm’s family”.

When asked what she would tell customers buying their flowers in the US, Maria says “by buying flowers from our company , that behind each flower there is a lot of love and dedication, that every flower picked and grown is a sign of love knowing that we care and has helped and benefited us”.

Theo Chocolate begins with… Juanita

Theo Chocolate buys organic Whole Trade Guaranteed™ cacao from indigenous farmers in the remote region of Talamanca, Costa Rica. Juanita Baltodano Vilchez is President of the Talamanca Small Producers Association (APPTA), formed to market the farmers’ organic cacao, raise standards of living and promote an agricultural model that can conserve the fragile tropical ecosystems.

After a difficult childhood, health challenges as an adult and raising her children, Juanita became a community leader and was eventually elected the first woman president of APPTA. She still farms the land she herself bought and is a strong spokesperson for the benefits of Whole Trade. She states that while the stable and above-market prices are critical to APPTA’s farmers, it is not all about the money. Other benefits are equally important, such as the strong sense of ownership of the association felt by the farmers, their resulting self-esteem and tangible benefits such as building a school and a cacao processing plant, and training local extension agents.

Juanita and the staff of APPTA are dedicated to bringing the concepts of sustainable agriculture into the daily lives of farmers through training and collaborative projects such as their own sustainability measurement tool. In addition to international standards, APPTA is now measuring ecological and social sustainability according to definitions set by the farmers themselves.

Whole Trade Roses begin with ... Alfredo, Soraya and Martha

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  Alfredo Monta, Cotopaxi, Ecuador

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  Soraya Falcon, Cotopaxi, Ecuador

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  Martha Chuquiana, Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Alfredo Monta, Soraya Falcon and Martha Chuquiana work growing roses high in the Andes in Ecuador. Aside from the healthier working conditions required for meeting the standards of the Whole Trade™ Guarantee, equitable trade allowed the flower growers to develop a housing fund, computer training courses and a scholarship fund for their children. In addition, the farm offers purchasing assistance for home appliances that improve living conditions for their workers.

Alfredo Monta had been with his current farm for six of the eleven years he worked in the flower industry (as of 2008), including serving on the oversight committee that handles premium payments and as treasurer of the board. Working for this farm permitted him to acquire a hot water heater for his household of nine, where before they had to heat water in a big pot to bathe.

Soraya Falcon began working in the flower industry in 1994. Most recently she has worked on the committee that handles wages and benefits for her farm, as well as coordinating shipments, billing clients and, during harvest, with the roses. Before the premium paid through Whole Trade and organizations like TransFair, Soraya spent hours after work washing her family’s clothing in a cold-water stream. Her hands were painful and she had little time to help her children with their studies. Thanks to the program, she said, she has been able to acquire a washing machine, which has given her more time to help her children with their studies, and warm, painless hands.

Martha Chuquiana is a field worker and served as secretary of the worker’s committee at her farm in 2006, after five years at the farm. She says the best benefit received from the premium price for the roses is improved reading and English courses for the children, and a community project that donated desks to the school. “Not only the children of the workers have benefited, but all of the families that have a child in that school.”

Dr. Bronner’s

It begins with… Dhanoj Meegahapola

In order to create a reliable supply of organic and fair trade coconut oil, Dr. Bronner's founded Serendipol (Pvt) Ltd., a Sri Lankan subsidiary in 2006. There Dr. Bronner’s hired Dhanoj Meegahapola to recruit more than 400 coconut growers and convert them to organic and fair trade practices. Dhanoj was also hired to oversee the Internal Control System, source and purchase more than 15 million coconuts per year and manage fair trade programs.

No stranger to the coconut business, Dhanoj jumped at the chance to share his knowledge gained from working in coconut fiber factories as a teenager, an opportunity that also sparked his love for the “Coconut Triangle,” Sri Lanka’s coconut production center. During high school, Dhanoj also participated in community outreach programs where he helped women set up charcoal-making businesses.

The opportunity to work at Serendipol came as a silver-lined cloud after Dhanoj’s own coconut fiber business failed—due to an economic downturn. A former supervisor saw his potential and offered what Dhanoj calls “an opportunity of a lifetime.”

Today, Dhanoj embodies Serendipol’s commitment to treating employees fairly with respect and appreciation. He states that the best part of his job is the opportunity to blend the company’s commitment to organic and fair trade practices with his passions for providing fair compensation, grower and worker family support, and health care and educational opportunities. His commitment reaches outside the company and includes sponsoring a rural child with money for a school year, a commitment now shared by Serendipol which gives the same support to 47 children of workers and growers.