Trade Aid is…• NOT a normal retail chain.• It is a not-for-profit organisation that combines:• Retail outlets (shops)• Importers (who bring the products into the

country)• Education (information on trade issues)• Development aid (they support projects in the

developing world)

Trade Aid believes in…• FAIR TRADE• Paying the producers of products like coffee

and chocolate enough to have a decent standard of living.

• Only trading with producers who refuse to use child labour.

• Working in partnership with producers to help them develop their communities.

Trade Aid works by…• Using volunteers instead of paid staff in

stores.• Reducing costs in stores allows Trade Aid to

pay more to producers.• Trade Aid also works with other

organisations to improve working conditions and relieve poverty in developing nations.

Trade Aid was formed because…• Normal trade (FREE TRADE) is based around a handful

of powerful western companies negotiating with producers and farmers in west Africa.

• These companies use their power to negotiate the lowest possible amount for coffee, chocolate etc.

• This is good for western shoppers because it keeps prices low in stores.

• However, this price can be too low for producers to build sustainable futures.

• This can lead to producers using child labour to reduce costs.

Trade Aid helps deal with child labour in the chocolate industry because…

• No chocolate sold in their stores has been made using child labour.

• They invest money in cocoa farms to improve the working conditions.

• They help farmers develop environmentally sustainable methods of farming.

• Some of the profits from New Zealand stores are shared with farmers in west Africa.

By doing this Trade Aid:1. Guarantees shoppers that their

chocolate is child-labour free.2. Provides a source of income for

farmers in west Africa who refuse to use child labour.

3. Helps farmers develop new products and more efficient business methods.

4. This allows farmers to pay their staff more as their businesses grow.

5. This deals with the basic cause of child labour – poverty.

Project in Kuapo Kokoo

It is made up of 1,200 village societies in Ghana.

Kuapa Kokoo is a partnership project of Trade Aid.

It supplies some of the cocoa used in Trade Aids chocolate.

It has provides work for 45,000 farmers and over 200 members of staff.

.

Trade Aid profits have paid for…

• The digging of wells and the construction of safe public toilets.• A mobile health programme which visits villages.• The construction of two day-care centres and six classrooms.• Two mobile cinema vans to show educational films to farmers,• Development officers to train farmers in business management.• Helped women set up a range of income generating schemes

including:• Tie-dye textiles.• Soap making• Snail farming

• These schemes have provided a more secure income for women and families – helping them send their children to school instead of work.