Entry: Aisha Hassan, World Cocoa Foundation
As the newest member of the WCF ECHOES DC Team, I manage WCF educational programs in West Africa from a bird’s eye perspective. Like many Americans, when I joined WCF, I had only a cursory knowledge of where my chocolate comes from. I understood the basics: chocolate is derived from a cocoa plant - undergoes cultivation and processing – is mixed with other ingredients to create the sweet treats available at my local grocery store. I never once considered the human side of chocolate – The Farmer and the Cocoa Farming Community at large.
WCF’s three P’s: People, Profit, Plant was an instrumental in helping me to see the chocolate, better yet, the cocoa, as a source of livelihood and survival for so many people living in rural West Africa.
People: WCF ECHOES works tirelessly towards the goal of improving the quality and access to education in rural cocoa-growing communities. These activities empower the farmer, their family and ultimately the entire community with the capacity to better understand and address the challenges of maintaining a sustainable viable crop.
Planet: Dependent on the land, the cocoa-growing farmer is often at the mercy of forces beyond his/her control. Training on and promoting environmentally friendly farming and cultivation practices is not only economically beneficial to the farmer it helps to ensure longevity of the crops for generations to come.
Profit: The cocoa tree is a cash crop that is a key component of the economic stability of rural West African communities. Educating and training the farmers on everything from basic literacy to production practices is integral in working towards improved and more equitable returns for the farmer. This in turn strengthens the entire Cocoa Industry and keeps our chocolate addiction prices down.
Now equipped with a robust understanding of the 3 P’s, I am able to more effectively drive home the WCF mission to promote a sustainable cocoa economy through economic and social development and environmental stewardship in cocoa-growing communities; when working with our myriad of Corporate and Industry Partners. This knowledge has reinforced and reinvigorated my commitment to education, in addition to the innovative projects I am fortunate to be involved with through the World Cocoa Foundation.
