Chocolate Has Never Been So Divine

Chocolate is one of life’s simple pleasures. While the luxurious storefronts of Godiva and Ghirardelli showcase some decadent and delightful treats, there are other companies that take a different approach. Introducing Divine Chocolates. This is a direct chocolate company: the farmers in Ghana who grow the cocoa own a large percentage of the company and are active decision-makers about large-scale operations. Divine Organization In the 1990s, a group of farmers in Ghana pooled together and set up a farmers’ co-op, Kuapa Kokoo. This co-op managed the selling of the cocoa and empowered the farmers by giving them direct control of their situation. By using honest practices, Kuapa Kokoo was able to attract a large membership. They were also able to gain fair trade certification, ensuring better returns for their farmers. In 1997, the members of Kuapa Kokoo decided to take even more control over their situation and voted to create their own chocolate company. With the investment of several socially responsible organizations, Divine Chocolates was created. As owners, the farmers have input into the sale and production of the final product. For the farmers and owners in Ghana, the fair trade benefits as well as the success that Divine Chocolates has had has meant a great amount of money has been able to build schools, sink wells, provide medical care, and improve the condition for women. The Products Divine Chocolates specializes in delicious chocolates for any occasion. They offer a selection of dark, milk, and white chocolate with a variety of different fillings and flavorings. There are also smaller crunch bars as well as toffee bars. For those of you searching for a decadent flavor, try the White Chocolate with Strawberries. For a heartier bar, check out the Fruit and Nut Dark Chocolate. Opportunities If you want to enjoy some delicious treats and support an environmental and socially responsible organization, there are many opportunities. Beyond ordering chocolate for your personal enjoyment, Divine Chocolates sell tubs of 200 mini bars to be used as party favors or incorporated in a beautiful centerpiece. Divine Chocolates also makes it easy for you if you choose to host a fundraiser or create a lesson plan to teach about fair trade in the classroom. Check out their website, look for them in your local store, or at an event across the country or in the UK. Image Credit: Divine Chocolates

Celebrating Passover with a Sustainable Seder

Passover is a perfect time for a green holiday, given the emphasis on renewal for a new season and a better world. One of the best websites that melds sustainability and Judaism, The Jew and the Carrot, has a guide to a green seder, including an  environmental approach to ritual cleaning and a sustainable Seder food guide. The Jewish Climate Initiative even has a short version of a green haggadah. For setting the table, Simple Touch sells beautiful handmade glass Judaica, including a luminescent matzoh holder and a unique iron and glass seder plate, both of which come in a variety of colors and shapes. Foods for your seder table can include fair-trade nuts for charoset, organic meat (think: brisket), from farms like Wise Organic Pastures and of course, handmade organic matzoh  (delivered to your door!).  The Jew and the Carrot also has a nice kosher organic wine list. One excellent choice on their list is Four Gates, a small California winery which produces Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc all on a tiny vineyard. The grapes are certified organic by the CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers). Herzog is another small but excellent California kosher wine made with vinifera grapes. The Special Reserve Merlot would be perfect for seder. Passover is also a time for reaching out as we recall the historical flight to freedom and modern day attempts to create a better world. The Passover story, retold in the Haggadah, asks people try to envision the experience of their ancestors: one way to do that is to consider the plight of those who experience slavery today, such as cocoa workers in West Africa, where 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown for chocolate.  One suggestion is to talk about global slavery during the Seder and to serve fair trade chocolate at the meal (cacao nibs make an excellent and unusual addition to charoset). Equal Exchange and Dagoba organic kosher chocolate bars make great Afikomen prizes at the Passover seder table and help reinforce the message that the historical experience of being slaves in the land of Egypt compels us to work against slavery wherever we see it and in its many forms. And if your Seder includes the traditional lengthy debate and discussion before your meal, steer the conversation to green issues of social conscience: for one example, check out the Northwest Jewish Environmental Project’s community-wide energy conservation campaign. The campaign will work to foster a dialogue in congregations, agencies and communities about the implications of U.S. dependence on oil for the environment, national security and Israel. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of how people can reduce their dependence on oil and other forms of energy at homes, synagogues and other Jewish institutions.  Check out the Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life, which as plenty of resources for greening your own world and helping others to do the same.