More great pics of those bicycles

Cadbury Canada's campaign to send bicycles to Ghana has done it!

We heard news from Ghana that the bicycles have arrived, here are some more pictures of the ceremony and the schoolchildren who'll no longer have to walk 3.5km to get to school. Well done to everyone who made this possible! Woohoo.

 

 

 

 

Bicycles arrive in Ghana

We received some wonderful news from Danielle Derks in Ghana. Cadbury Canada started a great campaign to get bicycles to Africa. The ad for the campaign, in the video above, shows how important bicycles are to kids and teachers in Africa. 

Danielle told us: "Schoolchildren and teachers who have to commute over 3 km to their schools have received their bicycles! The official commissioning of the bicylces in Suhum/Kraboa/Coaltar District in the Eastern Region was organized in the community Aponoapona. Until now, children had to walk 3.5 km from their communities in Kokotesua/Safrosa to attend school. The bicycles, which will be owned and managed by the community, will allow the children to attend school regularly and in time. The commissioning was organized by the District Assembly in cooperation with local partners and supported by Cadbury Cocoa Partnership."

 

Ghanaian Reminiscence 2

The road that stretches from Accra to Suhum under a heavy grey sky.

Massive trays of cocoa beans baking in the Ghanaian sunshine.

The much loved and hunted for Red Red.

 

   

Fairtrade Foundation wins Queen's Award for Enterprise

The Fairtrade Foundation has been awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the Sustainable Development category.

The Fairtrade Foundation was cited in the Queen's Award notification as "making a tangible difference to the livelihood and quality of life of local communities within some of the world's poorest regions and is an outstanding demonstration of the benefit which sustainable consumerism has on communities across the globe."

Harriet Lamb, executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation, said: "The Fairtrade movement has at its heart a determination to tackle the unjust trade rules and powerful commodity markets that have helped plunge billions of small scale farmers, workers and their communities into poverty. By opening markets and setting fairer trade rules, Fairtrade is enabling communities to build sustainable communities. Fairtrade has the power to tip the balance in favour of hard pressed farmers in the southern hemisphere which is why we call on retailers and brands not currently in the Fairtrade system to join this growing movement."

Sales in Fairtrade have grown from £16m in 1998 to £800m today. There are over 470 Fairtrade towns in the UK and Garstang, in Lancashire, the town that kickstarted this movement, celebrates its 10th anniversary this weekend.

Find out more here.

Ghanaian Reminiscence

Ghana is so beautiful and vibrant, there are photo opportunities around every corner. Last year, during my time in Accra and in Suhum, I literally took hundreds of pictures. I'm going to start sharing more and more of them with you. Here are three to start with:

Accra at night. The view from the terrace of Citizen Kofi.

 

The internet cafe in Suhum.

The road from Suhum to Accra.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2010 - the highlights

We love this film capturing the highlights of Fairtrade Fortnight. All the people who had fun at an event and the incredible amount of swaps that took place. It's great. Enjoy.

5 steps to becoming a Fairtrade school

Inspried by Garstang's story? Want to get more involved with Fairtrade?

You don't have to represent an entire town to make a difference. Fairtrade schools are working all over the country to do their bit for the movement.

Here are 5 easy steps to making your school Fairtrade:

1. Cover Fairtrade in the classroom
2. Show the Fair Comment Video in your school
3. Get your teachers to serve only Fairtrade tea and coffee in the staff room.
4.  If you have a canteen, tuck shop or vending machine convert to Fairtrade chocolate bars and snacks
5. Organise a Fairtrade promotion or event during Fairtrade Fortnight which runs every year in March

Find out more about becoming a Fairtrade school and download tools and resources overe here.

Countdown to a decade of Fairtrade

We've written about Garstang before. This ancient market town in Lancashire is the world's very first Fairtrade town.

On Saturday 24th April, Garstang celebrates its ten year anniversary as a Fairtrade town with loads of activities including food, live music and live links with Koforidua. Harriet Lamb will also be speaking at the event.If you fancy attending, then visit the website with details on how to get tickets.

Bravo Garstang, you've set a wonderful example. Here's to a wonderful, happy birthday and many more. 

Find out more about Fairtrade towns here.

A letter from Alison Ward -Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Cadbury

monthsΩWe received a few questions and comments following our appearance on Panorama. And we wanted to make sure we answered questions relating the issues around child labour in Ghana. So we asked Alison Ward to tell us more about Cadbury's work in this area. She responded by writing this piece:

We launched the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership in 2008, which is a £45 million investment over 10 years.   But really, the amount we invest in developing countries is only one part of the equation – it’s also equally important to ensure this investment drives change and leads to a better life for these farming families.  

Viennese Whirls

Gorgeous loops of buttery biscuit, with a delicious coating of Dairy Milk Chocolate. Enjoy our recipe for Viennese Whirls.