My
name is Cecilia Appianim. I am 47 years old and the Recorder of Asentem Kuapa
Kokoo Society. About a year ago, I was elected Area Treasurer and National
Financial Secretary. I used to be a fire fighter and was trained on how to
put bush fires out. In the dry season, we have a lot of bush-fires in Ghana
so we also educate people on how to prevent them.
Asentem is a small village in the Central Region of Ghana. Most of the people in my village are farmers and therefore there are a lot of farms. Most of us depend on cocoa for money since the other crops we grow like cassava and plantain are on subsistence.
Before Kuapa, most farmers in my village were cheated. Now as a recorder, I do the weighing so I can not be cheated. I also do not cheat anyone because anyone at all can use the weighing stone to check my scale.
My village now has a hand dug well thanks to Kuapa and Fairtrade. Now we do not have to walk for mile to the nearest river to fetch water. We get clean water from the pump which is just minutes away. Most of the farmers are now able to keep their children in school since they get more money and bonuses because of Fairtrade.
Fairtrade means a lot to us farmers. It means paying a price that reflects all the energy and toils the farmer has put into growing the raw material for a product. When people buy Fairtrade it also means that he/she is helping to keep the child of a farmer through school and also giving a lot of poor people water to drink.
