Red Star Chocolate is a small artisan chocolate making company that produces fine chocolate in Lincolnshire. We source the finest beans that we can find, working directly with the cocoa farmers or as close as we can get. We pay a premium for the finest beans so that the cocoa farmers realise that we appreciate the work they put into growing top quality beans and fermenting and drying them after the harvest.
We also pay a premium so that the farmers can treat their workers with the respect they deserve, and send their kids to school, afford medical treatment and all the rest of the things that are easy for us to take for granted.
Buying Fairtrade beans and sugar is one way of doing this, although the Fairtrade model is flawed in many ways (the farmers have to be in a co-operative and have to sell to that co-operative, the full extra cost that the end buyer pays does not all get back to the farmer, there are many farms and very few inspectors for example). One thing that annoys me is that I cannot use the words “Fairtrade sugar” to describe the sugar I use in all bars on the list of ingredients.
Dealing directly with farmers is another way of trying to ensure that I only deal with reasonable employers; ones that don’t employ children and pay a living wage.
Profits being shared with farming communities is the ultimate goal of Red Star Chocolate Ltd, through the support of local charities in the cacao-growing regions that I am dealing with. First I need to make a profit of course but the intention is that a tithe be applied to profits and re-distributed.