Two cocoa farmers from Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana will be meeting shoppers and staff at the MediaCityUK branch of Booths supermarket on Friday 9th March 11.30am-2.30pm. They will be sharing their views on Fairtrade and what it's like to belong to a co-operative, as well as life as a cocoa farmer, and what owning a chocolate company actually means to them and their community. There will be plenty of Divine chocolate to try too! The visit is part of Divine's special programme of events for Fairtrade Fortnight 2012, which runs from Monday 27th February to Sunday 11th March.

The Booths store at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays, Manchester is latest store to open in the Booths estate which now comprises 27 shops across Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria and Yorkshire. This landmark location is on the same site as BBC North. Booths' policy is to support farmers and encourage conscientious buying so staff at Booths are excited about welcoming the Elias Mohammed and Agnes Armah. Booths founder Edwin Booth says "Booths takes great care to source products ethically and sustainably. Fairtrade is important to Booths and we're keen to support businesses like Divine Chocolate, who give a fair deal to their producers and help raise the standard of living in local communities." All of the Booths stores stock the full range of Divine's 100g bars as well as many of their seasonal lines.

43 year old Agnes Armah is a cocoa farmer and owns a 10 acre farm in the Western region of Ghana. She is also the elected recorder* of her society and Treasurer of her district. 55 year old Elias Mohammed is also a cocoa farmer as well as a recorder and has been voted on to the National Executive Committee. Elias and Agnes will share their personal stories about improvements to their villages brought about through Fairtrade and belonging to a co-operative. These include the provision of a borehole to provide clean water, workshops on child labour, and the construction of a toilet block at the local school. Staff and customers will also hear how Divine's pioneering business model of farmer ownership means an even better deal for farmers and their families.

As well as visiting Booths MediaCityUK the two farmers will be travelling to London, Manchester, Bradford and Glasgow and will meet with consumers and some of Divine's key customers. Divine's theme for this year's tour is NNOBOA - the word Kuapa Kokoo farmers use meaning 'working together'. 2012 is also the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives (IYC) so the farmers are also here to celebrate what it is to be a co-operative and to profit from their own chocolate company. The Kuapa Kokoo co-operative is made up of 45,000 farmer members in over 1,200 villages across the cocoa growing region of Ghana.

As a leading Fairtrade brand, Fairtrade Fortnight is a key period during Divine's annual calendar. For the past nine years Divine has arranged for two prominent members of Kuapa Kokoo (the Ghanaian farmers' co-operative which co-owns the company) to visit consumers and decision-makers here in the UK. Each year these tours prove a hugely popular opportunity for people from all walks of life to hear firsthand about farmers' lives. In turn it gives the farmers an insight into our love of chocolate here in Britain and of how many people want to make trade fair.

For details of Divine's full programme of events please email Rosanna@divinechocolate.com or call 0207 378 6550.

*Being elected as a recorder of a particular society within Kuapa Kokoo means you are responsible for weighing all the cocoa that local farmers bring. Only the most trustworthy people are elected as recorders because there is ready means for falsifying the weight of cocoa sacks. The recorder also pays each farmer for their cocoa.

Ends

Please contact Rosanna Mayhew on 0207 378 6550 or Rosanna@divinechocolate.com for more information.

Editors' notes

• For more details on UN international year of cooperatives visit http://social.un.org/coopsyear/
• For more details on Fairtrade visit www.fairtrade.org.uk
• Divine Chocolate Ltd is the only Fairtrade chocolate company that is also co-owned by cocoa farmers. Kuapa Kokoo, a co-operative of 45,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana, benefit not only  from the Fairtrade premium on the sale of their beans, but also receive a 45% share of Divine's distributable profits giving the farmers more economic stability, as well as the increased influence in the cocoa industry company-ownership brings
• All Divine products carry the Fairtrade Mark. This is an independent guarantee certified by the Fairtrade Foundation that the ingredients are sourced under internationally agreed fair trade terms and conditions. These include a guaranteed, secure minimum price, an extra social premium payment for the farmers to invest in their own community programmes, long term trading contracts, decent health and safety conditions - all aimed at empowering farmers to make their own improvements to living standards and prospects for the future
• The UK chocolate market alone is worth approximately £3.76 billion a year (Mintel, 2010): if Fairtrade products can capture even a small proportion of that market, producers in developing countries gain real benefits.
• Keep up to date with Divine online:
  • Everything you need to know about Divine: www.divinechocolate.com
  • For Divine gifts: www.divinechocolateshop.com
  • Follow the Divine blog: http://divinedelights.wordpress.com
  • Follow Divine on Twitter: www.twitter.com/divinechocolate
• Divine has won critical acclaim which includes:
  • Charles Campion, Food Critic for the The Independent says: "...for a really good balance between price and performance look out for Divine's Fairtrade 70% dark chocolate - very fruity, with a good texture and a long finish".
  • Two-Michelin starred chef Tom Aikens says: "Divine's 85% cocoa bar is great for cooking with or just to nibble on with a cup of coffee!  Chocolate with such a high cocoa level has less sugar and is much better for you than normal chocolate".
• Divine Chocolate has won a number of prestigious awards.  These include Good Housekeeping's Favourite Fairtrade Product 2008; Best Food Brand in the SHE magazine Ethical Awards 2007; and Best Buy in Ethical Consumer magazine 2009.  Divine Chocolate Ltd was awarded Best Social Enterprise 2007 at the Enterprising Solutions awards run by the Office of the Third Sector and The Observer Best Ethical Business 2008.  Divine has been voted a Cool Brand 2009-10.