All About Chocolate By Maély, Y4B.

contents 1.A bit of history 2.Who were the Mayans? 3.Before the factory 4.Child labour 5.Fairtrade!!

A bit of history The story of chocolate begins in the rainforest, where cacao trees grow. Pods grow on the cacao trees and inside the pods are seeds called cocoa beans. These cocoa beans are the magic ingredient in chocolate!

Who were the Mayans  The Mayans were ancient peoples that ruled half of Central America. They were the first people to plant the beans of wild cacao trees. They were the first ones to enjoy a frothy chocolate drink. They discovered how to make it with the cocoa bean. The cocoa bean was also their main currency. For example with 10 cocoa beans you could buy a rabbit.

Before the factory  Cocoa beans pods are harvested (mainly in South America and West Africa) by cocoa farmers in hard conditions.  Cocoa beans and the pulp are taken out of the pods.  After fermenting for about a week, the beans are dried in the sun and shipped to the chocolate factories.

Child labour In our days slavery ended but the cocoa farmers are still working in hard conditions and get paid a little. To help their families children have to work on the farm and they don’t go to school. They used dangerous tools and can get bite by snake! They work long hours and don’t always have enough water.

Fairtrade! The idea of Fairtrade started after the Second World War. For the chocolate industry, Fairtrade gives cocoa farmers a minimum/fair price for their product and it guarantees us, consumers, that no child or forced labour is used. It helps to improve everyday life for the cocoa farmers. You can support Fairtrade by buying the products with the logo!!! (and not only chocolate!)

Quiz  Q1. How many cocoa beans for a rabbit?  Q2. What are the magic ingredients for chocolate?  Q3. How can you help children who are working in cocoa farms?