divine chocolate.

I love chocolate. It's quickly becoming a new passion of mine. So when I read about a company called Divine Chocolate which counts cocoa farmers as their biggest group of shareholders, it made me happy.

Here's why (according to the Economist article): "FUN though it is to pretend that a magic bunny provided the chocolate in your Easter basket, it is much more likely to have been grown by smallholders in West Africa, the region that produces 70% of the world's cocoa."

Global sales of chocolate are around $75 billion a year, although growers only see around $4 billion a year from the sale of cocoa beans. And sadly, the article says that most African cocoa bean harvesters have never even tasted or heard of chocolate.

But Divine Chocolate is different than the big name chocolate companies. They value the farmers that make chocolate possible. Kuapa Kokoo, Ghana's largest co-operative, with a membership of 45,000 cocoa growers, owns 45% of Divine and has two seats on its board. So the farmers have a say in their company and they also receive a share of the profits. And of course, cocoa beans are bought at the fairtrade price.

Read the farmer's stories here.

You can buy Divine Chocolate in the USA and UK at many natural food stores, online or at some grocery stores. I think it would make the perfect wedding, dinner and party favors.

What a wonderful company. I'm looking forward to buying Divine Chocolate when I get back to the UK and attempting their recipe for Divine Truffles. Mmmm...yum.