Seminar: "The world of chocolate"

From Friday, October 18, 4:30 p.m. to Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 5:30 p.m., the Tropical Greenhouse will be all about cocoa and chocolate. We love chocolate, but the sweet pleasure is not only associated with happiness hormones: cocoa also reveals the problems of global trade and social conditions in countries of origin and production. Chocolate is both a food and a luxury, a comfort to the soul on the one hand and a cause of social ills on the other. The global turnover of the chocolate industry is estimated at 100 billion US dollars per year. Germany is one of the most important consumer countries. We consume around 11 kilograms of cocoa and chocolate products per capita per year, including around 116 bars of chocolate. In the EU as a whole, per capita consumption is only around half this amount. Germany sources the majority of its cocoa beans from West Africa; Côte d'Ivoire is the most important producer of raw cocoa, apart from sugar and other ingredients, the most important raw material for chocolate production. Cocoa has repeatedly made negative headlines in recent years: There are around 5.5 million cocoa farmers worldwide who produce raw cocoa for a lucrative market, but whose income is often below the international poverty line of 1.90 US dollars a day. The media repeatedly report on poor living and working conditions on the plantations and farms. Fair Trade has been calling on companies to finally take responsibility for years.

The seminar looks at the world of chocolate from many perspectives:
On Friday, there will be a colorful mix of old stories and current facts about cocoa. The journey will take us from the Latin America of the Aztecs to today's everyday melt-in-the-mouth temptation, spiced up with bitter truths and current developments. The evening is dedicated to cocoa stories, delicious details and literature - enjoyed with samples in the tropical greenhouse.
On Saturday morning, you can experience how chocolate is made and how the cocoa seeds get from the plantation to our cups or bars on the cocoa trail: you will discover the fruits on the cocoa trees in the tropical greenhouse, experience the processing, transport, negotiate the price on the stock exchange, roast and grind the seeds for "your" personal sustainable chocolate enjoyment. We also look at topics such as sustainable cocoa production, climate change and working conditions. We work with interactive methods that you can use directly in your educational work.
In the afternoon, Anke Kuß will explain INKOTA's "Make chocolate fair! The campaign advocates better living conditions for cocoa farming families, calls for an end to abusive child labor and campaigns for sustainable and diversified agriculture. The question is: How does chocolate become fair? And what role do fair trade, the chocolate industry and consumers play in this?
After so much theory and discussion, we will finish with a chocolate tasting that will appeal to all our senses.

Time: The seminar starts on Friday, October 18, 2019 at 4:30 pm and ends on Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 5:30 pm.
Location: Tropical greenhouse of the University of Kassel, Steinstraße 19, 37213 Witzenhausen.
Organizer: The seminar is a cooperation of Weltläden in Hessen e.V., Tropengewächshaus Witzenhausen/University of Kassel and WeltGarten Witzenhausen.
Accommodation: DEULA, Am Sande 20, 37213 Witzenhausen.
Speakers: Ines Fehrmann (University of Kassel), Anke Kuß (INKOTA netzwerk e.V.), Christine Feiler (Weltläden in Hessen e.V.).
Participation fee (including accommodation + meals): 50€/person in a double room, 60€/person in a single room. Without overnight stay 40€. Reduction possible on request.

Registrations until 12.10.2019 to: feiler[at]weltlaeden-hessen[dot]de; Tel.: 06421/620127.