Green and Rebuild with Chocolate
What if there were a chocolate bar whose production and sales actually benefited people in need and the environment? You'd want to know more, and you'd want to spend your chocolate dollars on a project that makes a difference.
That's the idea behind the Haiti51 Chocolate Bar. Natura51 and World’s Finest Chocolate (WFC) are collaborating to create an organic chocolate bar that is not only sustainably produced, but also directs 51% of net sales to rebuilding efforts in Haiti.
Over 5 million
school children sell WFC chocolate every year. Traditionally, 50% of
net sales of WFC chocolate bars go to the schools and other groups that sell them. Those sales currently
generate over $70 million annually for these institutions, with a
cumulative give-back of close to $4 billion since 1949.
Green Schools Initiative does not usually endorse candy sales as a means of school fundraising, but we're making an exception, and here's why. The Haiti51 project is a sweet deal that can:
- Raise money for schools through organic chocolate bar sales
- Teach kids about sustainable production through Life Cycle Analysis curriculum
- Facilitate eco-friendly re-investment in communities in need
- Connect kids in the US through a website and social networking platform to micro-credit initiatives in Haiti.
Companion Curriculum: WFC and Natura51 are developing a tailored curriculum that will use the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of the chocolate bar to explore principals of sustainability from the cacao source country through manufacturing and distribution, to final sale and snacking in the US. A website and social networking platform would allow children or schools to direct the value of their sales through a pull-down menu of micro-credit initiatives in Haiti.
Matching Funds: The World Cocoa Foundation has indicated that this project would be eligible for matching funds of three to five times through their organization and partner members. Matching funds would bring much needed additional capital to rebuilding efforts.
Global Connection -- There's a tremendous opportunity through the website/social network platform to link US school children to those in developing nations, while empowering students to direct the value of their chocolate sales toward rebuilding efforts and other development initiatives. A $3 chocolate bar sold here in the US -- worth $4.50 to $7.50 with matching funds -- can have a real impact in communities where people struggle to survive on less than $2 a day.
Get Involved! Want to get involved in this tasty project? The Haiti51 Chocolate Bar is in the early stages of development, but may be ready to unwrap as early as next fall. Want to know more? Email Chris Coburn at Natura51. As the project develops, we'll keep you posted!