The Chocolate Trade game

Did you know that we spend £78 per person per year on chocolate? But where does it come from and what happens between the cocoa tree and the chocolate bar?

Today we played a game which helped us understand the cocoa trading chain between the poorer countries in the south who produce the cocoa and the richer countries in the north who process and consume the chocolate.

The Big Chocolate Company says the deal is off.

The Fair Trade Chocolate company tries to reason with the supermarket.

The shoppers try to get a good deal.

The cocoa producers negotiate with the Big Chocolate company.

Shoppers wait while the supermarkets and chocolate companies thrash out the deal.

We learned that the supermarkets and the big companies are very powerful and that the cocoa producers get a poor deal unless there is a fair trade company to trade with. We also understood that the shoppers (US!) are the ultimately the most powerful, if we decide we want fair trade goods the supermarkets will eventually have to provide it.

Everyone was very motivated and worked well in groups.

It was great fun too!