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The Seed Project
History and Production Of Chocolate
Trade Control and Middle Men Surrounding The Trade
Products and By-products
Health Benefits
Wealth, Poverty and Child Labour
Final Exhibition
Award Presentations
An award was also presented to Ms Gloria Copeland, Young Roots
Co-ordinator, of the Heritage Lottery Fund on behalf of the Ghana
High Commission, for the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund in
making the SEED project a success. She remarked that their doors are
always open and encourage many young people to put in applications
on projects they deemed would help their heritage.
To download a copy of the full report click
here.
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The aim of the project was to encourage young people to explore the
origin of the Cocoa plant, its introduction to Africa, related
products and the resulting trade and impact of its use today in
Africa and the UK. The young people then showcased their research
findings on the product, its diverse uses and the significant
contribution it makes to the livelihoods of people all over the
world. Ghana was chosen as a case study because research has proven
that the best quality of cocoa in the world comes from Ghana. The
project targeted young people between the ages of thirteen and
nineteen years as they are the most likely to consume a large amount
of chocolate and would be very interested in knowing more about the
product they love so much.
Equatorial
Central America to Africa in the 16th century. It was in 1630 that
the missionaries first brought the first cocoa beans to the coast of
Africa but due to the salty nature of the land in the coastal areas
they did not succeed in cultivating the plant. 
distributed it
among friends and neighbors which led to the success of cocoa
growing in west Africa. The first export of cocoa beans from Ghana
was in 1885 to Hamburg (two bags).By 1908 export figures had
increased to 20,000 metric tones(one tonne-1000kg). In 1911 Ghana
became world leader in cocoa production, which was more than half of
the world’s total production (41,000 metric tones).
independence was mainly by
merchants of English origin such as Cadbury and G.B Ollivant and
they paid little for the volume of cocoa beans they bought from the
farmers. The first export was in 1885(2bags), this then increased to
41,000 metric tonnes in 1911 when Ghana became the world leader in
cocoa production. The cocoa industry in Ghana today involves about
800,000 farmers; each has about 6 dependants which bring the
population close to 5 million people in the industry. Participants
learnt that one bar of chocolate they purchase from the shelf of a
shop contains about 40% of
cocoa, however less than 10% of the price
they pay is paid for the cocoa and still less than 10% of that is
given to the cocoa farmer, because of the number of people involved
in the trade chain. This leaves the hard working cocoa farmer in
poverty with poor living conditions. In Ghana the Cocoa Marketing
Board has instituted a scholarship programme for all wards of cocoa
farmers to enable all their children have basic education.
biscuits, and many
confectionaries, are not the only finished products gotten from the
cocoa fruit. After breaking the fruit open, the juice collected is
processed into wine, brandy, gin and whisky. The empty pod is also
processed with other materials to produce a local soap called “alata samina”. Some other by-products from cocoa include jam, soap, pomade
and vinegar.
types of cancers and improves cardio vascular
circulation. Specific mention was made of the dark chocolate and
brown powder which are said to contain more percentage of cocoa and
a lesser percentage of additives. Doctors in recent times have
prescribed cocoa drink products for people who want to live
healthier lifestyles. It has been disproved that chocolate causes
obesity, but rather the eating habits and lifestyles of the
individuals cause them to be obese. 
Participants learnt that the cost of producing one tonne of cocoa is
$800 and every farmer earns about $1000 in Ghana whereas others earn
$400 in other countries. Child labour has been a major concern in
countries that produce cocoa. It was realised that many children are
sent or sold out to work on cocoa farms in other West African
countries. There has been international pressure to eliminate child
labour from the cocoa farms around the world .A survey conducted by
International Cocoa Initiative has proven that there is no child
labour present on cocoa farms in Ghana, those found to be on the
farms are members of the house hold who lived on the farm and help
out on weekends.
Copeland, co-ordinator Young Roots and members
of other Volunteer organisations, students and teachers from Warwick
boys, George Mitchell and Walthamstow girls, and members and
Volunteers from the African Heritage and Educational Centre.