I am
sitting in the tropical home of Justus Avudzivi. I have come a long way,
eagerly clutching my trusty little silver recorder, for this face-to-face
interview with the respected village elder. To be precise, I’ve journeyed six
hour on a flight, 3158 miles from London to Accra followed by another
four-hour, 160 miles rough ride in a crowded tro-tro, sweating and bouncing, to
this remote, impoverished village of Shia, in the orange dirt Volta region of
Ghana, Africa.
This is
as authentic as it gets for a mildly intrepid reporter. No skype call for me.
I’m here on the ground, meeting the distinguished man in the flesh. And Justus,
with the gravitas of his 77 years, is a man with a vision, a compelling grand
plan that will transform this poor village where he was born and bestow a
lasting legacy of real substance.
What’s on
his mind is chocolate! Not just a common mid-afternoon craving. Justus wants to
revive the once-flourishing cocoa industry to create a sustainable income
stream for some 500 farmers and their families for generations to come.
Justus
was a teenager when the cocoa industry was thriving in a golden era in the late
40s and 50s. His father, a successful cocoa farmer, could afford to send seven
children to good schools and universities.
A solid
education set up Justus for a distinguished career as a top corporate
accountant and internal auditor with Shell and Texaco based in Accra and
travelling widely. After ‘retirement’ he built a thriving consultancy and then
ventured into a dynamic transport business before returning to his home village
of Shia in 2000 and embracing the challenge of horticulture.
He
explains: “My father was a cocoa farmer. This cocoa farm I have now I inherited
from my own father. He started the farm in 1915. I went to school because of my
father’s hard work and all my brothers and cousins went to school because of
our family’s cocoa farms. One cousin became an ambassador to the United States.
My generation, born in 1935, is the cream of the crop thanks to the cocoa
industry.”
The sense
of gratitude in Justus is deep. “I owe my success to my father’s farm. After
the war in 1945, we enjoyed the benefits of that prosperity. But tragically that
industry, the hope of these villages, has declined and we want to bring it back
to life for future generations.”
When
fires ravaged and destroyed hundreds of cocoa farms in 1983, the demoralised
farmers never recovered. They lacked the cash and emotional resilience to
replant their crops. Their small plots languished for more than 20 years and
the villages slumped into entrenched poverty … until 2005 that is.
Seven
years ago, Justus was consumed with a vision and heartfelt passion to revive
the cocoa industry so that future generations could also reap the benefits he
had enjoyed growing up: education, jobs, income and community prosperity.
And now
in June 2012, I am interviewing Justus, as a guest in his tropical home set in
the vibrant main street of Shia. My trip has been organised through
Madventurer, a not-for-profit travel company dedicated to encouraging
UK people, young and old, to volunteer and contribute to charitable projects in
developing countries.
As this
articulate elderly gentleman tells his story I am mesmerised and drawn in to
share his optimistic but realistic dream.
The small
village of Shia, with a population of 3000, is one of 12 villages, with
populations totaling 30,000, in the Norvisi Development Union (NORDU) in the
Volta region in eastern Ghana, on the border of Togo.
Set deep
in the Volta Basin, a lush tropical paradise cradled by mountains, Lake Volta
and the Volta River, the NORDU district is ideal for growing cocoa plantations.
Justus
says: “The conditions here are idyllic with rich soil and high rainfall. Cocoa
trees just thrive. Each tree grows as high as six meters and produces around 60
pods each harvest. And there are three harvests each year. Cocoa growing has
the potential to once again become a booming industry here.”
However
the farmers faced almost insurmountable problems when working their small plots
in isolation. So Justus, using his eloquent powers of persuasion at countless
public meetings, has formed the Cocoa Farmers Association bringing together up
to 500 humble farmers to forge collective strength.
To
jump-start the farms, Justus underwent rigorous training in propagation and
started growing his own seedlings. From 2007 he produced a staggering 10,000
seedlings a year, and when the farmers couldn’t afford to buy them he
generously gave away batches for free.
Right now
Justus needs help to subsidise 250,000 seedlings to get the plantations
underway and the MAD (Make A Difference) Foundation has set up the Shia
Bliss Chocolate Project.
Founder
of the MAD Foundation, John Lawler says: "We
hope that someone out there, be it an individual looking to give back, or
a group looking to adopt this Project, will contact us so we can help
Justus and the rest of the NORDU communities make this income-generation dream
a reality."
In his
grand plan, Justus aims to oversee bumper harvests over the next three years
with the goal of establishing a factory to convert the beans into cocoa powder.
He says
if the farmers could export cocoa powder, rather than sell raw beans to the
Cocoa Board at fixed prices, they could maximise income for the growers and
their communities.
“We need
a foreign investor with the right kind of heart to help build a factory to
enable this industry to flourish for the benefit of the farmers and their
families, “ says Justus.
Cocoa
growing is an ethical and worthwhile enterprise. After all pure cocoa is being
lauded as the ‘Food of the Gods’ and a trendy ‘Super Food’ across the UK,
Europe and US. Packed full of nutrients such as antioxidants, vitamins, good fats and feel-good stimulants, what is not
to love about quality dark chocolate?
Flourishing
cocoa farms is a realistic dream in this idyllic lush paradise with the perfect
climate and conditions to produce highly nutritious, top grade cocoa.
Justus
says: “Who knows, a humble cocoa powder factory may develop to become a
full-scale cocoa products factory - churning out products like chocolate, cocoa
butter, cocoa liquor - you name it. This will integrate NORDU into the thriving
eco-tourism industry in the Volta Region."
If anyone
can revive the cocoa industry, Justus can. As a respected elder in Shia and
well connected throughout Ghana and abroad through his distinguished career in
finance and business, he can make it happen in partnership with an investor who
shares his vision.
As father
of six, grandfather of nine and mentor to countless young people in his
village, Justus is determined to leave a legacy that will transform life for
future generations. Clearly, reviving the cocoa growers’ glory days of the past
is the way of the future for this blessed region of Ghana.
