Oh the criticisms I could say about the Millennium Villages Project (MVP)... For those who aren't familiar with MVP, its a collaborative project of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, United Nations Development Programme, and Millennium Promise. In efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, MVP aims to create sustainable communities with integrated investments in the areas of health, education, water and sanitation, agriculture and business development, thereby demonstrating how such investments can successfully assist reaching MDG targets. You can find more information about the project here: http://www.millenniumvillages.org/.
Our tour of the MVP site included a water tower, two health clinics, a visit with a farmers association, and a community lending institution. To be quite honest, I was unimpressed by MVP. I've read about MVP before, and its always presented as a legendary success. For some reason I imagined a well-developed, well-functioning, and thriving community which has benefited from various health, education, agricultural, and business interventions. Instead I was surprised to see an extremely vast village that looked nothing out of the ordinary, almost unable to distinguish the Millennium Villages from a neighboring village that hasn't benefited from fully funded interventions over the past years. Most houses still appeared poorly constructed and roads unpaved.
Although MVP wasn't what I expected, I feel it was still important to see the reality of such a high-acclaimed project. After poking around the MVP website, I came across a news article titled "In 10 years' time, Ghana may not require any need at all." Needless to say, I'm hesitant to agree with that statement.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/15/ghana-aid-10-years?commentpage=all#start-of-comments
Our car got stuck and needed a push. I obviously thought it would be more fun to take a photo instead.
The always impeccably dressed Kingsley and I matched on accident.
In Kumasi we also visited Kuapa Kokoo, a Fair Trade certified cocoa cooperative. As a long-time fan and advocate of Fair Trade, it was quite a treat to visit the cooperative, see how cocoa is cultivated, and better understand how Fair Trade premiums are used. If you have ever purchased Divine chocolate in the United States, then you've sampled cocoa from Kuapa Kokoo. What's interesting is that Kuapa Kokoo actually owns 45% of Divine, meaning they sit on the Board and have voting rights. Owning 45% of the company empowers Kuapa Kokoo farmers by having a direct influence over how the company is run and share in the profits from the chocolate.
I've never seen the inside of a cocoa pod before, but its definitely not what you'd expect. The inside is white and fleshy and tastes similar to lychee. The cocoa bean we are most familiar with is actually inside the white flesh which is then dried in the sun.
Charles educating us about Kuapa Kokoo.
For more information on Kuapa Kokoo - http://kuapakokoogh.com/
For more information on Divine chocolate - http://www.divinechocolateusa.com/default.aspx
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