Oxfam Action Corps NYC

Photo by Nikko Viquiera

On May 2nd, Oxfam Action Corps NYC members had the opportunity to meet with Fair Trade Ghanaian farmers, from Kuapa Kokoo, an entirely farmer owned cocoa growing cooperative. The event was an enlightening experience detailing how various components of the emerging global food justice campaign piece together to create and enable the quintessential example of a thriving and prospering food system that is performing at its very peak.

From modest beginnings in 1993 with a membership of 200 farmers, Kuapa Kokoo has rapidly grown into a national cooperative which now represents nearly 63,000 farmers, a third of whom are women. Kuapa Kokoo Farmers’ Union objectives include empowering small-scale cocoa producers, enhancing female participation in the decision-making process and encouraging environmentally sustainable production practices. All three of the organizations in attendance - Oxfam, Divine Chocolate and Slow Food USA are working towards these common goals. Oxfam America encompasses these objectives within the GROW campaign as well as the newer Behind the Brands Campaign.

Divine Chocolate markets chocolate products made from Kuapa Kokoo cocoa. Kuapa Kokoo owns a 45% share in Divine Chocolate, has two elected representatives on the board, receives a share of company profits and contributes to manufacturing as well as marketing decisions. Slow Food USA is part of a global grassroots organization that stresses the importance of food choices as well as the origin of food consumed and generally raising awareness in crucial aspects of the food justice movement.

It was a breath of fresh air to be able to meet and hear the stories of the smallholder farmer firsthand from Kuapa Kokoo farmers, Christiana Adusei and Kwesi Boateng. This event, which was free of charge and open to all was perhaps one of the most insightful and inspiring food justice events held in the history of Oxfam America’s GROW campaign.

Discussions of diverse panelists (Christiana Adusei and Kwesi Boateng of Kuapa Kokoo, Amanda White of Divine Chocolate, Will Fenton of Oxfam America, Tim Gore of Oxfam International as well as Richard McCarthy of Slow Food USA) representing West Africa, the United States and Europe were thorough and comprehensive while also allowing ample time for any questions raised and further discussion. Despite an audience composed of Oxfam Action Corps NYC members, donors, Slow Food supporters and Divine Chocolate fans, the event supplied knowledge even to the most learned food justice devotees within the audience, and further highlighted little known yet common issues by providing the complete story from start to end and addressing any thoughts raised.

The conversation raised intriguing points and engaging conversation including the fact that cocoa farmers do not eat chocolate as it is far more of a cultural indulgence in the developed world than anywhere else. At the same time, many of us in the Western world have never seen a cocoa tree in the wild. Thus, the concerning dilemma of food miles creating environmental impact, resulting in consumers becoming further detached from the food they consume appeared to be far from ideal.

Photo by Nikko Viquiera

Subsequently, the discussion that followed clarified the reason this combination of West African farmers supplying the US and Europe with chocolate ultimately makes perfect sense, both in terms of resources and long term sustainability, due to the fact that the economic power lies not in the humble cocoa bean but in the finished product - a bar of chocolate. Together, Kuapa Kokoo and Divine have created a viable way of producing a flourishing trade in sustainable chocolate, thereby simultaneously satisfying the needs of both West African farmers as well as Western consumers of chocolate. Thus, West African farmers who make their living from cocoa but do not in fact eat chocolate and ship their harvest abroad, are engaging in a mutually beneficial relationship. This practice has enabled farmers to become established in their trade and self sufficient. Furthermore, it has given decision-making power to the smallholder farmer. This success story was further confirmed by the reply to another question, wherein, it was confirmed by Christiana and Afriyie that all the cocoa grown by their co-operative gets sold.

However, during the discussion it emerged that a large percentage of Kuapa’s cocoa is not sold to Divine Chocolate because at this time there is not yet a high enough demand for Divine Chocolate products. Fair Trade makes up only a portion of Kuapa Kokoo’s total sales. The bulk of the remaining cocoa is sold at fluctuating market prices instead of a guaranteed minimum price.

Some of the remainder cocoa is sold to companies such as Cadbury’s, which sell some Fair Trade chocolate brands as well. Cadbury’s, owned by Mondelez is one of the brands that was the subject of focus of Oxfam’s recent ‘Behind the Brands’ campaign. Mondelez has recently responded to the mounting consumer pressure from over 100,000 petition signatures collected and presented by Oxfam supporters and have agreed to take steps accordingly. Steps to be taken by Mondelez include publishing data from first stage impact assessments of their policies in a year’s time and then publishing concrete action plans to address those issues. Mondelez will also sign on to the UN's Women Empowerment Principles. This will further ensure that the cocoa from Kuapa Kokoo is tackling poverty, hunger and unequal pay which plagues so many and is impacting women farmers like Christiana who will benefit from this change in policy.

Another highlight of the discussion included the topic of Fair Trade products. Buying Divine chocolate will help the farmers of Kuapa Kokoo and purchasing Fair Trade products in general will support small scale farmers around the world. Additionally, another question raised the mistaken assumption that Fair Trade labels only comprise of luxury products such as chocolate, tea or coffee and not staples. This was confirmed to be incorrect during the discussion. It should be noted that staples such as rice, flour, beans, legumes, fruit such as bananas, mangos and pineapples, olive oil, palm oil, cotton as well as more luxury products, such as honey and sugar are all readily available as certified Fair Trade. Additionally, investing in Fair Trade will enable us to repair our broken food system and can act as a lasting legacy in building a generation of self-sufficient, smallholder women farmers.

Posted by: Shireen Alam

On Thursday, May 2, 2013, please join Oxfam America's GROW Campaign, Slow Food USA and Divine Chocolate for a special event.

The Tibet House
22 West 15th Street
New York, NY 10011

at 7:30 PM

Ms. Christiana Adusei Photo credit: Sophi Tranchell

You're invited to attend a special event with two Ghanaian cocoa farmers, Mr. Kwesi Boateng Afriyie and Ms. Christiana Adusei, who will take part in a panel discussion. During the panel, Mr. Afriyie and Ms. Aduseiwill describe their relationship with Divine Chocolate, share personal stories as farmers growing cocoa and participating in a fair trade cooperative (Kuapa), and talk about their hopes for agriculture and the challenges for the next generation of farmers.

The event will be an opportunity to learn about the experiences of the different partners working towards the same goals of prioritizing small-scale and women farmers, and encouraging participatory co-ownership, democratic decision making and shared wealth. It will also provide insights into the functioning of the Kuapa cooperative, which markets around 70% of the world's fair trade chocolate.

This event is free and open to Oxfam supporters like you. Space is limited, so please RSVP to Will Fenton at wfenton@oxfamamerica.org.

Oxfam Action Corps NYC just keeps getting better and better! Oxfam Action Corps NYC has decided to improve the structure of our current system by having leaders in different realms of activities carried out. These leadership positions (with members interested in such) within the corps include social media, logistics, rapid response,community coordinator among many others. In the coming days we will be posting profiles of our new leaders. Here's a couple to start with!



Hello friends - My name is Sarah Hwang and I'm from NYC. Through volunteer work abroad, I saw first-hand the devastating impact of oppression, social injustice, poverty and hunger. Through these experiences, I was fortunate enough to meet and work with some truly amazing and inspiring people -- children and adults alike. It's my memories and commitment to them (and those in similar circumstances) that have led me to Oxfam. I'm excited about all the initiatives we have planned for the NYC Action Corps.

Sarah Hwang, Jill Mizell, and Elizabeth Norman attended a great Oxfam Action Corps training in April in Washington, DC. Twenty-eight new Action Corps leaders from fourteen cities around the country, including Austin, Madison, and Seattle, joined Oxfam staff and current organizers for the training. Highlights included a panel with former organizers, a talk by Martha Kwataine from the Malawi Health Equity Network about how her group is effectively using foreign aid and a presentation by Jim French, a farmer in the Midwest, about seeing the impact of Oxfam’s work on farmers in Africa. We also met a lot of great Oxfam staff and Sisters on the Planet ambassadors.

Our day of lobbying members of Congress and their staff about supporting poverty-reducing foreign aid in President Obama’s budget proposal was a real highlight. We met with Congresswoman Nita Lowey and staff from Senator Gillibrand and Senator Schumer and staff from Representative Eliot Engel, Representative Carolyn Maloney, and Representative Nydia Velazquez. We asked everyone to support the President’s food aid proposal which requires 45 percent of food aid to be purchased in local and regional markets. Full food aid reform could save up to 17 million more lives at no additional cost! We heard concerns about the impact on U.S. farmers and the shipping industry. We encouraged our New York members to consider the fact that food aid represents only 1 percent of U.S. agricultural exports, which means that there would not be a big impact on these industries. We were especially happy to hear about how Representatives Engel and Lowey are championing the proposal and to confirm support from other New York members. It was also fun to be on Capitol Hill - we ran into Senator Al Franken in the hallway and got directions from “Gang of Eight” Senator Tom Coburn.

Overall, both our training and lobbying helped highlight the impact of Oxfam and the Action Corps. Congressional staff definitely took note of the number of Oxfam supporters in their districts and the numbers of petitions signed and delivered. We also received a lot of encouragement for how active the New York City Action Corps has been. It was a fabulous training, and we look forward to sharing a lot of the information at our upcoming retreat.

Congresswoman (and Food Aid reform champ!) Nita Lowey with Oxfam Action Corps members & staff

Upon arrival at the headquarters, it became quite clear that entry into the grounds would be inaccessible due to a vehicle blocking access to the site. Oxfam had hoped to deliver the stack of 70,000 signatures in person and perhaps have the opportunity of conversing with a member of staff. This was not the case as security politely denied entry. Additionally, East Hanover police emerged and requested some information regarding the quest. It appeared that the activism was a rather exciting occasion for the residents of East Hanover, drawing attention from those driving by as well as residents of neighboring properties.

On a brighter note, Mondelez did not particularly discourage photographs being taken at the site entrance with their purple branding logo as the backdrop. Activists were able to display posters and signs with messages supporting women farmers and fair pay, even when the conspicuous Easter Bunny costume emerged! Many employees driving into work also took steps in gesturing their support of the display which was a very promising sign.

However in the end despite requests, Mondelez declined the offer to leave the petitions with them. Our endeavors however were noted and also documented. Perhaps the image of an Easter bunny campaigning on behalf of women working in cocoa production, in a billion dollar industry but often earning less than $2 per day will at the very least be a lingering thought for Mondelez during this Easter period. 

Posted by: Shireen Alam Photography by: Ipek Gencsu & Bahruz Balayev

• efforts in protecting the legally mandated language access rights against violations in public schools to ensure that  language barriers do not prevent immigrant parents from becoming involved
• fighting for anti-deportation policies including the recently unveiled Comprehensive Immigration Reform plan as well as the DREAM Act, 
• turning an abandoned local lot into a thriving community garden
• addressing disparities within the public education system such as discriminatory practices of school guidance counselors discouraging youngsters from graduating High School or applying to College because they are undocumented. 

The Oxfam Action Corps kicked off our 2013 concert series with shows from 2 of our biggest supporters - Ra Ra Riot and Flogging Molly.  With three shows two weeks, our volunteers managed to collect over 260 signatures from fans telling congress to protect foreign aid and signup up for Oxfam's GROW pledge.

Both shows were monumental, with the first Ra Ra Riot show at Music Hall of Williamsburg being live streamed on youtube.  Music for Good caught up with Becca, just before hitting the road.  You can read more about what Becca and Oxfam Creative Alliance Manager, Bob Ferguson, have to say about teaming up together here.

As always, Flogging Molly brought out the most energetic, pre-St.Paddy's Day celebration ever.  Everyone was sporting green - Oxfam's signature color - and were very enthusiastic about the green Oxfam swag.

Thanks to everyone to stopped by our table and, of course, to our volunteers! If you missed us at the shows you can still sign the GROW petition here, as well as learn more about the campaign, including 5 easy ways you can help tackle food injustice at the grocery and at you diner table.

Stay tuned for more exciting shows and updates for the 2013 Concert Series and opportunities to "Make Some Noise".  If you are interested in volunteering with the action corps in NYC please send us an e-mail to oxfamctioncorps.nyc@gmail.com



















Oxfam Action Corps volunteers Brittany & Andra tabling at the Flogging Molly Show.

Hi All,

Our October Newsletter just went out! You can see it on-line here!

Check it out for pertinent updates and lots of good information on upcoming events!

Have a great holiday weekend!

:) Jill and Taryn