Kumasi - Millennium Villages Project and Kuapa Kokoo

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

First Things First

Hello and welcome! I initially intended to maintain a blog as a thank you to my family and friends who supported my traveling endeavors. Before I left for this trip I reached out to my Hawaii family and selected professional contacts I've made throughout my career to update them on where I'll be going this summer and what I'll be doing. 

Thanks to those who responded, you have no idea how much I appreciate knowing you've got my back :). Special thanks to my Hawaii family (Daddy and Aunty Tammy, Granmom and Grandpa, Aunty Sheri and Uncle Lance), former TPL boss Michael, and former professor Jeffrey Haydu!

For the next eleven weeks I'll be in Ghana, (hopefully Togo), and Cape Town exploring issues of global hunger, food security, and Fair Trade. From now until the end of July I'll be traveling to throughout Ghana - Accra, Kumasi, Cape Coast, Tamale - with NYU studying food security issues and global commodity chains. I hope to also visit the Buduburam refugee camp and Lome, the capital of Togo. 

At the end of July I head to Cape Town until the end of August. While in Cape Town I'll be conducting impact assessment of a variety of fair trade certified organizations - wineries, rooibos tea estates, and citrus estates. Everything in between is still up in the air, and will pan itself out. By now, I've traveled enough to know not to have any expectations and just go with the flow. My goal this trip is simply to maintain a state of awareness, acceptance, an open mind, and an open heart.