The leafy town centre of Leura and a remote agricultural district in Ghana are worlds apart, but both came together earlier this month thanks to the Fairtrade movement.
Leura chocolatier Jodie Van Der Velden was selected to host a chocolate-making workshop with a difference in conjunction with Fairtrade Australia, which brought cocoa farmer Mary Appiah to her shop, Josophan's Fine Chocolates, to see how the cocoa beans are transformed into chocolate of all shapes, textures and sizes.
Ms Appiah, a single parent of seven (now adult) children, has a 3-hectare farm in a marginalised region in western Ghana called Enchi and is part of Kuapa Kokoo, the country's Fairtrade-certified cocoa farmers' organisation.
Farmers like her have limited access to healthcare and clean drinking water and most remote villages in Enchi do not have schools within walking distance.
Ms Van Der Velden said Josophan's Fine Chocolates' production laboratory in Leura is a passionate supporter of the Fairtrade movement and will use about 25 tonnes of Fairtrade-certified chocolate this year to handcraft luxurious chocolate products.
"I was honoured to be asked to work alongside Mary and it was absolutely thrilling to see her reaction to the melted chocolate . . . the smell, taste and texture all taking her by surprise."
Together they made chocolate truffles, ganache fillings, moulded chocolates and Easter eggs.
The Fairtrade premium, paid on top of the fair market prices for cacao, is used for projects in which participating farmers are allowed to vote on how the money is spent to benefit their communities. The premium has funded projects including construction of schools, provision of learning materials and mobile health clinics.
It has also helped to improve sanitation in remote villages and enabled access to clean potable water for many communities.
Kuapa Kokoo is addressing gender inequality issues in regional Ghana by delivering education and training programs and empowerment activities for women.
Women are increasingly involved at all levels of the organisation's decision-making process.
Ms Appiah currently holds the position of treasurer and is proud that 30 per cent of cacao farms in Ghana are now being managed by women.
Ms Van Der Velden, who visited Ghana in 2013 as part of a Fairtrade delegation, said Ms Appiah's story is inspiring.
"I've seen first hand the differences Fairtrade makes to these people's live."
