Fair Trade Chocolate

Activity Book

Name
(for grades 3-6)

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WEEK 1
Dear friend,
We hope you will enjoy this book. We wrote it so that
you could learn all about chocolate, the problems that
face cocoa farmers, and how we can all help. Please feel
free to copy this book for your friends and family!

We hope that you will write to chocolate companies to

tell them what you have learned from this book, and ask
them to sell Fair Trade. There are materials at the back
of the book to help you do this!

If you want to learn more, please see the resources sec-

tion at the end of the book. Your teacher and parents
can help you find the other resources and look on the
internet sites that are listed. The Fair Trade team at....

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 Do YOU like chocolate?
What’s your favorite kind?
Write its name or draw
it here.

Do you know what Chocolate always has

chocolate is made of? cocoa and cocoa butter.
Make your best guess! It usually has sugar and
Let’s find out! sometimes milk, too.

This drawing shows how much

of these are in a chocolate bar.

5% vegetable oil 45% sugar 25% milk 25% cocoa &

cocoa butter
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Week 1
Cocoa and cocoa butter
come from cocoa beans.

Cocoa beans grow on

trees, inside pods that are
as big as footballs! It is too
cold to grow cocoa in the
United States. Cocoa pods
might want a scarf to stay
Cocoa grows in rainforests that are warm and wet. warm here!
Can you name some places where cocoa might grow?
Let’s find out!

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It grows in countries in Africa

Ghana

Cameroon

the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)

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Week 1
Cocoa also grows in countries
in Latin America
Cocoa even grows in some
countries in Southeast Asia
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Belize
Ecuador
like Indonesia Do you know where these
countries are?
Do you think you could
walk to them? Let’s find
them on a map! You could
walk to Latin America
but it would take a really
really long time! You would
probably want to take a
plane or a boat or a car.
Find Belize and Ecuador
on the map of Latin
America.

When you find each of these places, write their

names on the map or color each one a different
color so you will remember where they are.

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Week 1
Africa and Southeast Asia are all the way across the
ocean. You would have to take a long ride on a plane or
boat to get there. Cocoa from Africa and Southeast Asia
comes to the United States on big boats.

Find Ghana and Cameroon and the Ivory Coast on

the map of Africa. Find Indonesia on the map of

When you find each of these places, write their

names on the map or color each one a different
8 color so you will remember where they are.
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 Every time you eat chocolate, you are sharing a yummy
gift from hard working cocoa farmers that live in these
faraway places. Chocolate brings the world together!

Draw a picture of yourself

sharing some chocolate
with a cocoa farmer.

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WEEK 2 Cocoa farmers are poor because they do not get paid
very much for their cocoa.

Most cocoa farmers have never even eaten chocolate!

They are too poor to buy or make chocolate bars. They
cannot even pay for things they need, like food and
clothes and trips to the doctor.

Cocoa farmers get 25¢ to 50¢ for each pound of cocoa This is not even enough
beans they sell. Circle some coins to make 25¢. to pay for the cost of
growing cocoa.

What could you buy with

25¢? Could you buy
lunch? Could you go to the
doctor? Could you even
buy a chocolate bar?
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Farmers do not get paid much for their cocoa beans because they do not have any
say in what the price should be. They just get what companies want to pay them.
This is why farmers stay poor.

How do you feel about

that? Do you think that
is right?

On some farms, these workers are children, just like

you. They do not get to go to school, or play. They
have to work very hard on cocoa farms all day because
their parents are too poor to afford to send their
children to school and hire people to work on the farm.
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Week 2
Some farmers are so poor they do not even have the
money to pay their workers. These workers are slaves.
They are often children, brought from other countries
to work far away from their homes and families. They
do very dangerous work. They get yelled at and are
treated badly.

Here is a picture of some

children who were made
to work as slaves on cocoa
farms. How do you think
they feel? How would you
feel if you were them?
These boys were rescued but others are still
working as slaves on cocoa farms.

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Some farmers have also cut down the rainforest to grow
more cocoa to sell. This has taken homes from birds and
other animals that need the rainforest.
Some of these farmers also
use chemicals to keep away
bugs and diseases. These
chemicals make the water
and air dirty.
Many of the people and
animals who breathe the
dirty air and drink the dirty
water get very sick.
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Week 2
Fortunately, people are trying to fix these problems.

Some chocolate companies in the United States are

trying to end child slavery on cocoa farms. These are
very good things for companies to do!

They are also helping farmers grow cocoa in ways that

are good for the earth. But, these companies still have
not agreed to pay farmers enough for their cocoa.

This means that many children will still have to work hard
so their families will have enough money to buy food and
clothes and go to the doctor.

How does this make

you feel?

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Do you think farmers A lot of people think so.
should get more money People like this set up
for their cocoa? something called the “Fair
Trade” system.

The Fair Trade system gives

farmers at least 80¢ for
each pound of their cocoa.
This gives farmers enough
to buy food and clothes,
go to the doctor, and send
their children to school.
Hooray!
Circle some coins to
make 80¢.

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Week 2
The Fair Trade system also makes sure that farmers do
not use slaves or mistreat their workers. This means that
cocoa farmers are always safe and sound.

Children do not have to work on Fair Trade farms. They

can go to school and play like you. Hooray!

If older kids want to help out on the farm when they

come home from school, that is ok. But, they cannot be
made to work all day instead of going to school.

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Fair Trade farmers work together
and help each other.

The farmers use some of their money to go to school

to learn how to grow cocoa in a way that is good for
the earth and make their cocoa taste the best it can
be. Fair Trade farmers also share their money with
their communities to build things like schools and
doctor’s offices.
Draw something that
farmers might do with
their Fair Trade money.

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Week 2
Fair Trade cocoa comes from 9 countries:

Belize Peru Cameroon

Bolivia Costa Rica Dominican Republic

Ghana Nicaragua Ecuador

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Find these places on the
maps of Latin America
and Africa.

When you find each of these places, write their names

on the map or color each one a different color so you
will remember where they are.

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WEEK 3

There are a lot of farmers

in the Fair Trade system -
over 50,000!

Draw some farmers here.

How many did you draw?

You can read stories about

some of these farmer
groups on the Internet. See
the back of the book for a
list of good web sites.
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 Fair Trade chocolate has
special labels that tell you
that the farmers were paid
a fair price.

Have you ever eaten Fair

Trade chocolate?
What did it taste like?

Do you think Fair Trade

is a good idea? Why?

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Week 3
Fair Trade chocolate is sold by only a few small
companies in the United States. Big companies do not
sell Fair Trade chocolate. Cocoa farmers do not get a fair
price for most of the chocolate we eat.

Cocoa farmers get only 1

penny for every chocolate
bar that is not Fair Trade!

What do you think

you can do to get big
companies to sell Fair
Trade chocolate?

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You can write to your favorite chocolate company!
Tell them that you are sad that cocoa farmers do not get paid enough and that some
even use child slaves. Tell them you are sad that many children work on cocoa farms
instead of going to school. Ask them to start selling Fair Trade so that these problems
will not happen anymore!
Tell your friends and family to write letters, too! If we all
ask companies to sell Fair Trade, they will know how
important it is and they will do it!

Do you know where to

send your letter? To find
out, look at the wrapper of a
chocolate bar.

Here is the address for World’s Finest Chocolate:

Edmond Opler,
Chairman and CEO
World’s Finest Chocolate
4801 S. Lawndale
Chicago, IL 60632-3062
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Week 3
Here is a sample letter:

Edmond Opler, Chairman and CEO,

World’s Finest Chocolate
4801 S. Lawndale; Chicago, IL 60632-3062

Dear Mr. Opler,

I am sad that cocoa farmers do not get paid enough to buy
food or go to the doctor. I am also sad that many children
work on cocoa farms instead of going to school or being
able to play like me. I am the most sad that some even use
child slaves. Please sell Fair Trade chocolate so that these
problems will not happen anymore! Please write back to let
me know when you will start to sell Fair Trade Chocolate.
Thank you!

Your friend,

(Sign your name here)

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Here is how you can contact
Global Exchange:

Email: fairtrade@globalexchange.org
Web: www.globalexchange.org/cocoa

They have a Fair Trade chocolate campaign and they can

help you out! They would also love to hear about your
letter to the chocolate company!

You also can find a list of other helpful groups and web
sites in the back of this book.

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WEEK 4 After you write to the
chocolate company, you
can do more things to help
cocoa farmers:

1. Share this book with friends & family. Ask them to buy Fair
Trade chocolate & cocoa all the time. Ask them to write to
chocolate companies, too!

2. If your school or club sells chocolate for a fundraiser, ask

the chocolate company to sell Fair Trade. If the chocolate
company won’t sell Fair Trade, get your school or club to
switch to a company that does. Global Exchange has a
packet to help you at www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/
fairtrade/cocoa/FTFundraisingGuide.pdf.

3. Ask your local stores to sell Fair Trade chocolate & cocoa.
You can get a list of companies from Global Exchange.

4. Learn more about Fair Trade farmers and the places

they live. See our web site for farmer stories at http://
www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/ fairtrade/cocoa/
cocoacooperatives.html. Also check out the resources in the
back of this book to get started.
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5. Support other Fair Trade!

• Look for Fair Trade bananas

and fruits! If your parents like
coffee and tea, they can get
Fair Trade in the store! See
Global Exchange’s web site
for company and store listings.
• You can find fairly traded
clothing, hand-crafts, musical
instruments, and other cool
things from Fair Trade Stores

Fair Trade Federation

www.fairtradefederation.org
Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores
www.globalexchangestore.org

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Week 4
Thanks for helping bring Fair Trade to more
farmers like us and our families!

Mariano – Nicaragua Ovida – Dominican Republic

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Manuel – Dominican Republic Asamoah & Lydia – Ghana

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 Resources
TransFair USA
1611 Telegraph Ave, Oakland,
CA 94612
510.663.5260
info@transfairusa.org
www.transfairusa.org
Fair Trade Federation
1612 K St., #600, Washington,
DC 20006
202.872.5329
ftf@fairtradefederation.org
www.fairtradefederation.org
Save the Children Canada
4141 Yonge Street, Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario M2P 2A8
416.221.5501 or
1.800.668.5036
sccan@savethechildren.ca
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Groups that promote
Fair Trade in the United
States
Coop America
1612 K St., #600, Washington,
DC 20006
202.872.5343
info@coopamerica.org
www.coopamerica.org
Fair Trade Resource Network
PO Box 33772, Washington,
DC 20033
202.302.0976
info@fairtraderesource.org
www.fairtraderesource.org
International Labor Rights
Fund
2001 S Street, NW Ste. 420
Washington, DC 20009
202.347.4100
laborrights@ilrf.org
www.laborrights.org
Global Exchange
2017 Mission St., #303
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.575.5538
fairtrade@globalexchange.org
www.globalexchange.org/
cocoa
Equal Exchange
251 Revere Street, Canton,
MA 02021
781.830.0303
info@equalexchange.com
www.equalexchange.com
Oxfam America
26 West Street, Boston, MA
02111
617.482.1211
email@oxfamamerica.org
www.oxfamamerica.org
Groups that are working Child Labor Coalition
to end child labor 1701 K St. NW, Ste. 120
Washington, DC 20006
202.835.3323
childlabor@nclnet.org
www.stopchildlabor.org
Free the Slaves
1012 14th St., NW Ste. 600
Washington, DC 20005
202.638.1865
info@freetheslaves.net
www.freetheslaves.net

Groups promoting earth- Organic Consumers

friendly farming Association
6771 South Silver Hill Drive
Finland, MN 55603
218.226.4164
www.organicconsumers.org

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Resources for History and Exploratorium Chocolate
Exhibit
Manufacturing of Cocoa
parents and and Chocolate
Children’s museum online
exhibit on chocolate
teachers www.exploratorium.edu/
chocolate/

International Cocoa Chicago Field Museum of Jubilee Chocolates

Organization Natural History Chocolate Lots of fun facts about
Questions and answers about Exhibit chocolate and a special page
all aspects of cocoa and Museum online exhibit on to post questions you have.
chocolate chocolate www.jubileechocolates.com
www.icco.org www.fieldmuseum.org/
chocolate
General information on Global Exchange Fair Trade Fair Trade Federation
Fair Trade Program List of Fair Trade groups
Information on all aspects of and materials in the United
Fair Trade, including links States and around the world.
to lists of other groups and You can find fairly traded
materials in the US and clothing, handcrafts, musical
around the world. www. instruments, and other
globalexchange.org, click on cool things from stores and
Oxfam International “Fair Trade” companies that are in the Fair
Oxfam has educational Trade Federation!
materials about world trade www.fairtradefederation.com
and Fair Trade that you can
download for free and order
from their web sites.
www.oxfam.org
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www.oxfam.ca
 This certificate is presented to

for making chocolate sweeter - one bite at a time!

Thanks for helping spread the word about Fair Trade and getting more companies to
sell Fair Trade chocolate and cocoa. You are making a real difference in the lives of
more than 50,000 cocoa farmers and their families across the world.
Keep up the good work!!

Global Exchange Fair Trade Team

2017 Mission Street, #303

• San Francisco, CA 94110
• tel 415.255.7296 • fax
cut along line

415.255.7498 fairtrade@
globalexchange.org • www.
globalexchange.org/cocoa
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34
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This book may be copied This book was written by
freely for educational Melissa Schweisguth and
purposes. Please keep this designed/illustrated by
page in the book when you Corine Brunet.
copy it.

It was produced by:

fairtrade@globalexchange.org Photo and Map Credits:

www.globalexchange.org/
cocoa
2017 Mission St, #303
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-575-5538
Pages 5-8, 18–19: Country Maps: Corine Brunet
Pages 28–29: (from left): Melissa A Schweisguth/Global
Exchange, Fairtrade Foundation UK, Chokky Bikkies,
Fairtrade Foundation UK

Global Exchange is an international human rights organization dedicated to promoting

environmental, political and social justice. Since our founding in 1988, we have
increased the US public’s global awareness while building partnerships among peoples
around the world.

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This book is designed for
grades 3-6. A version for
grades K-2 is also available.
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2017 Mission Street, Suite 303
San Francisco, CA 94110
Telephone: 415-255-7296
Fax: 415-255-7498
www.globalexchange.org