Youth for Fair Trade 2010

 

Our good friends at Youth for Fair Trade (Y4FT) are organising a bit of a do that we think you might like to hear about. But first a little about them...  

Based in Coventry, Y4FT are a project that aims to train up 60 young people a year to be Fair Trade ambassadors. It's all about raising the profile of fairly traded products, and helping to support the ambassadors in their own personal endeavours to spead the Fair Trade word. We salute the work they do and recommend you follow their tweeting exploits at @Y4FT. 

And that's why we want to give their International Conference 2010 a shout-out. Taking place from the 29th to the 31st October at Coventry University, its aim is for attendees to have fun while they find out how to improve the lives of the people who make the fashion, technology and food they love. 

Highlights will be food and drink sampling, finding out about the importance of Fair Trade when manufacturing techy stuff, discovering what it really feels like to work in a textiles factory, and learning how to achieve Fairtrade status for your school, college or university.

It sounds like an awesome three days to us, so if you're aged between 18 and 25 and can get to Coventry, book your early bird discount tickets now by going here. 

The Canadian Cadbury Fairtrade Story

Over the pond, our Canadian Cadbury cousins have been working hard to get Fairtrade Cadbury Dairy Milk on the shelves. Now it's here and we congratulate them for all their hard work. 

To celebrate going Fairtrade, they commissioned Ghanaian artist Nii and his assistant Nana to create an amazing mural called 'The Big Fair Trade Picture'. And here's it is... 

Nii concentrates hard on his mind-blowing work for Cadbury and Fairtrade. 

First of all Nii sketched the outline in charcoal before painting. 

Nii putting the finishing touches to the 'Equal Employment Opportunities' mural. 

This was the trial 'Big Fair Trade Picture' mural that Nii created before he went ahead and did the full size one. This was only 10' x 8'; the real one is 30' x 15'! 

Nana takes a break from painting, ready for his close up. 

Find out more about the making of The Big Fair Trade Picture on the website. 

Frenchman treks across Japan for Fairtrade

 

Intrepid Frenchman Xavier Auclert, has just embarked on a 750 km journey, on foot, across the Japanese countryside to raise awareness of Fair Trade. 

Along the way he will be handing out postcards explaining what Fair Trade is and the good that it does, so he can spread the word to the people he meets. 

Auclert is travelling alone from Tokyo to Kyoto and it is anticipated it will take him 50-60 days to complete his journey. His end destination is the jaw-dropping location of Lake Biwa, the largest fresh water lake in Japan. 

He said of his trip, "I quickly realised that access to Fair Trade products is much harder (in Japan) than in Europe. While thinking about my walk I came upon the idea to create cards that I would distribute to the people I meet." 

It's a big challenge and all in a good cause and we wish Xavier good luck on his journey. Remember your blister plasters ;-)

Record breaking chocolate bar!

 

"When Gulliver dropped his Cadbury Dairy Milk bar, the press had a field day"

Now when you think of Armenia, it may conjure up many images, but we're willing to take a bet it wouldn't be a nation of people who make food so large it breaks records. 

But on Saturday the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed an Armenian chocolatier had succeeded in creating the biggest chocolate bar ever made. 

 

Here's the vital statistics. Weighing in at a giant 9,702 pounds, this cocoa-based beast is 224 inches long, 110 inches wide, and 10 inches thick. 

Chocolate obsessed as we are, we have one minor niggle... if it had been made of Cadbury Dairy Milk is would have been soooooo much better ;-) 

Inside the famous Cadbury factory at Bournville

When we posted these photos on our Cadbury Dairy Milk Facebook page, we got over 1,200 Likes! So we thought it would be rude not to share it with you here on the blog. 

Some say there are giant rivers of chocolate.... others say the cocoa beans talk... there have even been alleged sightings of Oompa Loompas running riot through forests of purple trees...

There are many outrageous myths surrounding the Cadbury factory at Bournville, but the one thing we can confirm is that it's a magical place. And the smell will knock you for six and leave you drooling.  

Chocolate is kept at 28 degrees centigrade, the perfect temperature to make the perfect bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk. 

The chocolate is kept in various vats and tempered to create a sublime taste. It's a very precise process that if not followed, will result in a whole batch of Cadbury Dairy Milk having to be made again. 

Once the liquid chocolate has been poured into moulds, it takes anything up to 45 minutes for the bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk to cool. Then it's time to wrap and pack...

And ta da! The delicious Fairtrade Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate we know and love is ready to be gobbled up. 

Do you remember your first ever Cadbury Dairy Milk bar?

 

"If you want some, you'll have to fight me for it."

Here at Cadbury Dairy Milk HQ, we have often found ourselves day dreaming about chocolate. It comes with the territory.

Guaranteed to get us misty-eyed with nostalgia is our first memory of eating a Cadbury Dairy Milk bar. (1985, back of the car after school, bought by Mum. Awesome.) 

We asked our Facebook Fans about the first time they remember eating Cadbury Dairy Milk, and they came back with some cracking stories. Here's our top 10 trips down chocolate's memory lane... 

"I would have been really young... my grandparents always had it in the fridge as a treat when we were there." Emma Farrar

"Way back when I was a kid the paper boy used to bring Cadbury blocks to the door at my grandparents, along with the newspaper." Linda Eaton

"Sure do, it was my first 'weaned' food after my bottle! Guess that's why it's still my favourite food and purple is my favourite colour!" Sister Jenny Underhill 

"Every Friday night Dad brought home chocolate for my Mum. I used to sneak into the bedroom on Saturday morning and eat what was left... and from then 'til this day I have an addiction to Cadbury!!!" Gail Acott 

"I would have been about five and it was in 1967... bahahahaha I'm getting old!" Rachel Gilmore 

"I was waiting for a train and there used to be all of these wonderful Cadbury vending machines on the platforms... the ones with a pull draw. I remember seeing the chocolate appear as the draw was opened... magical!!! This inspired my parents to buy me one of those miniature Cadbury vending machines with the mini bars in them. I still feel a glow of nostalgia when I see one now! I will be buying my little girl her first one for Christmas this year :-)" Nova Whiting-Willett 

"1973... I stole 20p from my Dad and got two bars, one for me and one for my brother." Joseph Richards 

"I can't remember the first time I had it, but the earliest memory I have of Cadbury Dairy Milk was 44 years ago and I had just had my tonsils out. I was still in hospital and couldn't swallow properly. My Dad went and got me some chocolate and I cried as it hurt too much to be able to eat it. All I wanted was to be able to eat the thing... next day I finally got to eat it!" Jane Whelan 

"My Grandpa used to have the giant one inch thick blocks broken up inside a tin in his sideboard. He would sneak me a chunk or two while no one was looking!" Elaine Brady

"I don't remember when I actually first had Cadbury Dairy Milk, but I recollect that I used to buy it almost every time I visited my Grandma. It's always nice to share it with family... beautiful memories." KArthiga Thilagarajan 

So do you remember the first time you tasted Cadbury Dairy Milk? Tell us about it below...

Fan takes on Cadbury Eyebrows

One of our Cadbury Dairy Milk Facebook fans has an unusual talent. 

Charlotte Rhodes is in possession of an alarmingly wiggly pair of eyebrows. So wiggly are her brows, she can give the Cadbury Eyebrows advert from last year a seriously good run for its money. 

Here's Charlotte's tribute to the famous Glass and a Half Full Production.

And here's the original. 

Not a bad, not bad at all. 

Cadbury launch the Cocoa Ambassador Programme in Ghana

The Ambassadors (front row) and special guests (back row left to right): Kufre Ekanem, Alan Palmer, David Croft, Malcolm Bruce, Nick Bunker, Harriet Lamb, James Boateng, Yaa Pepra Amekidzi

Our friend in Ghana, Joseph Bbirikadde, has been heavily involved with the Cocoa Ambassador Programme in Ghana. 

The Programme is part of the work done by the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership (CCP). It looks to the next generation to attract young people to the cocoa sector and help Cadbury realise ambitions for all cocoa producers in Ghana to be Fairtrade one day. 

Here is Joseph's report of the Programme launch day, the people involved, and how it will achieve those dreams... 

According to research undertaken by the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, the University of Ghana, and the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, one of the biggest challenges facing cocoa farming in Ghana is dwindling interest among the young, while those farming now have an average age of 50. 

This is a very dangerous trend for the Ghanaian economy, which heavily relies on cocoa (30% of the GDP). To address this challenge, the CCP has launched the Cocoa Ambassador Programme. This initiative is using a 'Young Empowering Young' approach, implemented through university level students to reach out to young people in all levels of education.

On August 30th, the President of Kraft Foods UK, Nick Bunker, launched the Cadbury Cocoa Ambassador Programme in Accra, Ghana. Held at the swanky Labadi Beach Hotel, it was a colourful day that saw 10 students from various universities in Ghana, embark on a journey that will play a huge role in defining the future of the cocoa sector, and the Ghanaian economy as a whole. 

Mr Nick Bunker told the audience, "Having been born in this country, I am especially passionate about ensuring the future of the cocoa industry in Ghana. I am delighted to be here today to show Kraft's commitment to the future of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership."

Other dignitaries present at the launch included the President of the Fairtrade Foundation, Harriet Lamb; Alan Palmer the Managing Director of Cadbury West Africa; James Boateng the Managing Director of Cadbury Ghan;, Kufre Ekanem the Head of Corporate Affairs West Africa; David Croft the Head of Conformance and Sustainability; and the Director of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, Yaa Pepra Amekudzi. 

The Director of the CCP, Yaa Pepra Amekudzi, said, "The Cocoa Ambassador Programme is a novelty. The CCP is optimistic that this innovation, which has been drawn up to respond to the aging challenge in the cocoa sector, will yield positive results."

There are 10 Ambassadors in total (pictured with Joseph, third from right) and they were selected through a rigorous process. They were sent to boot camp to be trained in skills such as communication, leadership, team dynamics, and understanding the CCP as a whole. This is very important because they will be working with the CCP for the next two years. 

The ambassadors' backgrounds range from agriculture, environmental studies, development studies, human resource management and business administration. The overall aim of a Cocoa Ambassador will be to increase engagement and revive interest in cocoa and cocoa production amongst the youth population in Ghana.

Ebenezer Kwadwo (far left above) acted as spokesperson for the Ambassadors. He pledged, "We are grateful for this great opportunity and we promise not to let you down." 

We will be charting the progress of the Cocoa Ambassador Programme on the blog here. We wish the 10 very special Ambassadors the best of luck!

Cadbury builds the world's biggest Formula 1 chocolate car!

Ever wondered what it would take to make a giant chocolate car? 

It takes 48 hours...

A whopping 300kg of Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate...

Hey presto! The world's biggest Formula 1 chocolate car! 

Happy Friday :-)

Fairtrade: a worldwide success story

 

Doom, with a side order of gloom, is often a good summation of the news headlines these days. While the rest of the world warily charts the progress of economic uncertainty with gritted teeth, we have been watching the rise and rise of Fairtrade with undisguised delight. 

Far from being in decline, recent figures from the Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) estimate that 1.5 million producers worldwide will be benefiting from fair trade by the end of this year. 

In the UK alone, sales of products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark rose by 12% in 2009, which is a huge credit to everyone who buys fairly traded produce. 

Since 2005, Cadbury has worked hard with cocoa producers in Ghana, sharing an estimated extra £2.5 million to spend on new schools, clean water wells, electricity supplies and new roads, to name just a few of the life-changing benefits. 

As you know from this blog, the Cadbury Fairtrade story is something we are immensely proud of celebrating. The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership has been working hard to launch the Cocoa Ambassador Programme, and recently announced ambitious plans for all Ghanian cocoa farmers to be Fairtrade one day. Wow! 

Our Ghanaian correspondent Joesph Bbirikadde has been at the heart of the CCP's new plans for cocoa producers. His report is coming later...

In the meantime, keep enjoying that Fairtrade Cadbury Dairy Milk, and the Chocolate Buttons too! It really does make a difference.