Do you remember our film Decolonize Chocolate? In this film we told you about the current situation in Ghana and introduced you to our mission – Decolonize Chocolate. We produce organic chocolate in Ghana and thus bring the added value of chocolate back to Ghana – the country of origin of cocoa. To do this, we had a big dream: our own solar-powered organic chocolate factory! But what actually happened to this dream? Did the dream come true and if so, how do you build an organic chocolate factory in Ghana? Find out the answers to these and many more questions in our new documentary: Decolonize Chocolate 2!
Summary first film
Our first film Decolonize Chocolate already premiered at the end of 2019. This film was about our mission to revolutionize the chocolate world and bring value back to the country of origin instead of exporting the raw material cocoa from Africa. To do this, we are working with the organic cocoa initiative, Yayra Glover Ltd.. We don’t just want to pay fair prices and premiums to the organic cocoa farmers, but also create fair jobs beyond agriculture. In Decolonize Chocolate, you get numerous insights into the processes at fairafric e.g. quality control or production, but also into daily life in Ghana. The film deals with the critical situation on the Ghanaian labor market and also with the effects of climate change on the cocoa farmers. You will get an insight into the family life and the culture of Ghana and see numerous interviews with farmers and employees of fairafric. The film also shows the positive effects of organic farming and the premium on the lives of the farmers and explains the positive chain reaction of value creation in the country of cocoa origin. To bring even more value back to Ghana, Hendrik, the founder of fairafric, has a big dream: to build a state-of-the-art, solar-powered chocolate factory, that is only using organic ingredients! Imagine: We could create 50 skilled jobs in the first year. The factory could be run completely by Ghanaian management. Of course, there would be many challenges that we would have to face… How can we import the machines? And how do we solve the problem of the lack of infrastructure in rural Ghana? But the dream was born: In the last scene of our first film, Yayra and Hendrik stand together on Yayra’s property and visualize their common goal. “Let’s get started!”
But what happened to the big dream? You can experience the answer to this question in our new documentary Decolonize Chocolate 2! Why the name Decolonize Chocolate 2? We thought long and hard about how to name our new film, but in the end everyone agreed: Decolonize Chocolate 2! Why? We want to show that we are far away from being finished. We’ve already accomplished a lot, but our mission – Decolonize Chocolate – is just as valid today as it was with our first film, and we will continue to give our all to advance the chocolate revolution! While the first film shows you our mission and our big dream, the second film is a report of our journey, the steps we took to make our dream come true. You will also get to know the local employees and their personal stories. With Decolonize Chocolate 2 we want to make a statement: It is possible to bring value back to the country of origin. It is possible to change an existing system. It is possible to build a factory in rural Ghana and thus create fair jobs – professional opportunities. It is possible to revolutionize the chocolate world! We hope that this statement will be seen and that others will follow our dream and also bring back added value to the country of cocoa origin.
Content Decolonize Chocolate 2
Decolonize Chocolate 2 shows how our big dream finally became reality in 2020! Our new film gives many insights into the construction of the factory and into the life situation of the farmers, employees and their families in Ghana.
Farmer Mavis Oppong could hardly believe that the beans from her cocoa farm would now be processed right in her neighborhood. The factory offers unprecedented opportunities for people in the rural region of Amanase. But of course, it didn’t all go without one hurdle or another: in various interviews with the employees in Ghana, Decolonize Chocolate 2 shows the challenges that came up during the construction of the factory: heavy rains, challenges in infrastructure and financing, machine breakdowns and, last but not least, a global pandemic. But in the end, everything turned out just fine: The incredible team in Ghana pulled it off. After only 6 months, the first chocolate bars rolled off the production line. An emotional moment of success for everyone! The first container will arrive in Germany in time for Christmas.
In our film you will also get detailed insights into the chocolate production and the daily work in our new Chocolaterie School, where handmade delicacies are produced with our organic chocolate. We also conducted many interviews with the farmers and employees. In addition, the film Decolonize Chocolate 2 also addresses issues such as organic farming, gender equality and child labor. There are still many neo-colonial structures that need to be dismantled, still many challenges that need to be overcome. But with the new organic chocolate factory in rural Ghana, we were able to create a symbol for a system change and for more value creation in the country of cocoa origin. With the help of our supporters, customers, investors, families and friends, we have shown that it is possible to make the big dream come true. “It always seems impossible until it is done” – Nelson Mandela.
