Caw Cacao

Caw Cacao

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life. What if he doesn’t have a fishing rod or even a fishing line?

What I’m really asking is: What if he does not have the fishing rod or the tools necessary to complete his job?

Chocolate—made from cacao beans, consumed by almost everyone. Some distribute chocolate during parties; some use it to get over breakups (tubs of chocolate ice cream); for many others, it’s just simply a guilty-pleasure.

Where does it come from?

Some say Swiss chocolates are the best; some say Belgium chocolates.

But, where does it really come from?

According to the Food Empowerment Project, about 70% of cacao comes from West Africa.

Majority of third world countries are suffering from poverty, and because cacao farming is very labor intensive, things like child slavery happen. In these desperate times, parents, and even kids, are exploited by capitalists who pay low wages and expect long working hours.

Here at Caw Cacao Caw, we aim to provide sustainable solutions through empowerment. By providing the underprivileged with ideas, knowledge or tools, we can multiply the great work they are capable of. We aim to provide the specific tools needed to grow cacao, and also provide part of the land for farmers to cultivate their own food crops too. We also plan to use a fixed proportion of sales to help improve these farmers’ living conditions by building things like better houses and multiple potable sources of water.

Most people are willing to work, but they do not possess the essential tools. If some businesses, namely Caw Cacao Caw, were set up to address some of these very evident social problems, they would profit from market demand and garner the support of many instead of simply profiting from the demand of consumers. Social entrepreneurship may not be a cure-all, but I know that it could be the first step in a more profound change in attitudes.