From Earthly To Divine

We’ve always had a special relationship with Divine Chocolate. Our Community Trade
partner, Kuapa Kokoo, that provides the moisturizing, melt-on-the-skin cocoa butter used in our Body Butter, is also one of the founders and major stakeholders in Divine Chocolate.
Their inspiring story, from humble beginnings in the cocoa fields of Ghana to the international commercial success we see today, demonstrates the power of Community Trade and our passion for living our Values at The Body Shop®.

Last week, Comfort Kumeah visited The Body Shop store in Union Station in D.C. She is the national secretary for Kuapa Kokoo and the highest elected woman farmer in the cooperative. She is also the chair of the farmers’ trust which distributes the premiums Kuapa receives from the sale of their cocoa butter to The Body Shop and Divine.

Comfort Kumeah with Rudolph Bell at Union Station

Divine Timeline

1993 A group of farmers in Ghana pools resources to set up the Kuapa Kokoo co-operative in an effort to trade its cocoa beans more efficiently and fairly than government agents. Its mission: to help farmers gain a dignified livelihood, to increase women’s participation in all of Kuapa’s activities, and to develop environmentally friendly way to cultivate cocoa.

1996 Kuapa Kokoo becomes the Community Trade supplier of cocoa beans for The Body Shop®.

1997 With their cocoa bean trade going so well, the farmers of Kuapa Kokoo decide to start their own chocolate company. With financial support from The Body Shop®, Comic Relief, and some non-governmental agencies, Divine Chocolate was established.

1998 The Divine Chocolate bar launches in the UK.

2006 The Body Shop® donates its 14% ownership in Divine Chocolate to Kuapa Kokoo. As a result, the farmers’ co-operative owns 45% of the company and two elected farmer representatives have a seat on the board.

2009 After seeing the benefits Kuapa Kokoo brings to its members, farmers are eager to join. Today the co-operative has upwards of 45,000 members in approximately 1,200 villages.

Special Offer For The Body Shop® Customers:

Divine Gift Box - Price: $29.95 ($40 value)

Eight assorted bars of delicious Divine Chocolate in a hand-woven star basket, along with chocolate coins and a fair trade glass bead coil bracelet set. Free Shipping. Limited time offer ends on May 10th.

Tags: Community Trade, Divine Chocolate

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 at 8:43 am and is filed under The Body Shop, The Body Shop Values & Campaigns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.