Cocoa Camino is raising awareness for its organic fair trade product by partnering with federal Green Party candidate Jen Hunter for her Taste of the Green Economy initiative.
As spring rolls in, Ottawa taste buds grow a little greener thanks to a local Green Party initiative and a Centretown-based chocolate company.
Cocoa Camino, on Florence Street, will be taking part in Ottawa Centre Green Party candidate Jen Hunter’s Taste of the Green Economy. She’s inviting local businesses to share their environmentally-friendly business practices. So far, only Cocoa Camino has received an invite.
“We’re honoured to be an example of what is trying to be promoted,” says Jennifer Larocque, Cocoa Camino’s marketing and communications officer. “For us what’s great about it is we’re getting a channel to voice our values.”
But she stresses that it’s not a political sponsorship and they would do the same for any political party.
“It’s not a political event for us so I won’t voice on any political affiliations,” says Larocque.
She does note, however, that Cocoa Camino and the Green Party do share some of the same values.
“For sure we’re for the sustainability of the environment and so are they.”
But not all local chocolate companies follow the same practices. Stubbe Chocolates has some organic products but aren’t on the fair-trade bandwagon. They used to sell fair-trade chocolate but people weren’t buying it, says an unnamed staff member.
Cocoa Camino follows an environmentally and socially sustainable business model by using organic ingredients and fair-trade labour. The ingredients they use for their chocolates are made without pesticides.
Many of the cocoa plants are shade-grown under fruit trees. This provides a bird habitat, giving the crops natural pest protection with the decomposing foliage as natural fertilizer. The farmers who harvest the ingredients are paid a guaranteed minimum price and Cocoa Camino pays premiums for the ingredients it buys.
“We believe this kind of business model is not only possible, but it’s actually happening,” says Hunter. “So what I’m trying to do as a candidate is pick businesses that are showing the way of the future right now, the ones that are embodying what could be done with better business practices.”
Hunter will host the first Taste of the Green Economy event in her home on April 21, the eve of Earth Day.
She will bring in Cocoa Camino staff to speak about sustainability issues. People can also buy the products and some of the proceeds would go to the Green Party.
But any samples distributed would not be donated, says Larocque. The Green Party would have to purchase them in advance.
If Hunter’s pilot project is a success, she plans to host more community gatherings in people’s homes.
“If people can see we’ve already got these success stories in our own community, why don’t we keep doing this?”
Bridgehead is another company Hunter hopes to invove because it’s a thriving sustainable business, she says. For now, Cocoa Camino is the only business involved.