By Talia AlbertsContributing Writer
A local store is saving the world – one chocolate sample at a time.
Ten Thousand Villages, 719 Main St., held a free celebration of fair-trade chocolate last Saturday, one of many celebrations the store holds throughout the year based on themes ranging from Oriental rugs to a big 10-year anniversary party planned for next May.
But for the first time, the store decided to hold an event to promote the sale of fair-trade chocolate.
Ten Thousand Villages is a store that supports artisans from Third World countries who would otherwise receive little or no pay for their work. A branch of the nationwide non-profit chain was established in Evanston in 1997.
“Cocoa plantations are notorious for slave labor,” manager Susanne Donoghue said. “Production costs are higher than market costs, which leads to slavery.”
Donoghue said the problem is growing more severe. The majority of the world’s cocoa production takes place in West Africa. She said an estimated 15,000 male slaves under the age of 16 are forced to work on cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast.
Customers often cannot tell if they are purchasing chocolate that comes from slavery, since cocoa from different farms is often mixed together during shipping, Donoghue said. But by purchasing fair-trade chocolate, consumers can be assured that slaves did not produce the cocoa.
Donoghue said the movie “Black Gold,” based on the stories of Third World coffee farmers, inspired her to expose the similar conditions found in cocoa plantations.
Volunteers at Ten Thousand Villages handed out short quizzes to customers walking throughout the store.
The questions included “How many cocoa beans does it take to make a pound of chocolate?” and “What are the major reasons for slavery on West African cocoa plantations?”
Upon completion of the quiz, customers received a free fair-trade chocolate bar.
Patrons also enjoyed a menu of chocolate snacks available on tasting tables. In addition to traditional pieces of chocolate, there were two types of brownies; hot chocolate; truffles and champorado, a chocolate rice pudding.
While tasting the different chocolates, customers had a chance to explore the store’s different sections, which are organized primarily by color scheme.
In addition to chocolate, the store sells a variety of eclectic artwork, jewelry, scarves, musical instruments and children’s toys – all produced for fair wages. According to its brochure, Ten Thousand Villages supported tens of thousands of artisans in more than 30 countries last year.
Evanston residents, such as Tom McDonald, who came to the celebration Saturday, said they were impressed with the store’s products and mission.
“I like the whole idea (of the event) today, ” McDonald said. “There is a lot of information that I wasn’t aware of. The artwork here is really beautiful, and I just tried a delicious milk chocolate rice dessert.”
Reach Talia Alberts at [email protected].
