The Chocolate Fudge Cafe

Equadorean Protestors in Lago Agrio near the Columbian border

Cacao pods on trees

  Did you know that some of  the best chocolate comes from Equador?  Small family farmers are growing some of the best cacao in the world and the chocolate from those trees is delicious!  It is pure, organic and fair trade without the “greed energy” of some of the other cacao growing regions.

   This is why we must do all we can to protect the Equadorean rainforest and its farmers.  One way is to get Chevron to clean up its mess from an oil spill by Texaco.   The plaintiffs in a huge lawsuit in the Ecuadorean oil boom town of Lago Agrio, located just across the border from Colombia, allege that Texaco, which operated in Ecuador from 1964 to 1990 and was acquired by Chevron in 2001, poisoned their lands, rivers and ground water with toxic chemicals.

http://mobile.globalpost.com/dispatch/the-americas/090429/chevron-ecuador

If you interested in signing a petition regarding this issue:

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/chevron_ecuador/

There is also activity in Tena and the Kallari, where Ivanhoe, a Canadian oil company, has leased rights from the Ecuadorian government to prospect for oil. The form of oil that is found in the area does not lend itself to conventional drilling, instead, a form of strip mining must be used. Naturally, the consequences of unrestrained exploitation of oil in the region could be devastating not only to Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest, but to large amounts of acreage planted in cacao, and to many members of the Kallari community. One only has to visit the town of Coca to see the potential for problems.  Keep updated:  http://www.thechocolatelife.com/group/tenadiaries

From The Nourisher

Chocolate Avocado Pie by Anand

Crust
1 cup pitted dates – soaked for 20 min
2 cups desiccated coconut

Filling
2-3 avocadoes
3 Tbsp of Agave syrup optional
½ cup of coconut butter
10 Tbsp of raw cacao powder
2 cups dates (pitted)
1 Tbsp zest of an orange (optional)
2 Tbsp raw cacao butter (optional)
1 Tbsp desiccated coconut (optional)

Directions
Process the crust ingredients until a sticky dough is achieved. Press the dough firmly into a 9 inch pie dish. Put in the fridge to set. For the filling, melt, dehydrate at 45°C, or double boil the cacao butter. Process thoroughly the remaining ingredients into a smooth creamy, unctuous mousse. Add the cacao butter. Spread onto pie crust and eat right then or place in the fridge for later. Decorate with desiccated coconut and orange zest.

   EARTH’S SWEET PLEASURES IS ON A QUEST TO CREATE THOUSANDS OF “FAIR TRADE HOMES” FOR WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY, 2010

EARTH’S SWEET PLEASURES is a part of “Fair Trade My Home,” a grass-roots campaign of fair trade companies, individuals and organizations who are inviting friends and fans to join the fair trade movement and make their home a “Fair Trade Home” in honor of World Fair Trade Day, May 8th, 2010. The goal is to create as many self-declared Fair Trade Home’s as possible by having people submit a photo or video showing which fair trade goods they regularly purchase and use in their home. Submissions are being gathered at www.fairtrademyhome.com  Fair trade is an alternative way of doing trade, where the people producing a product are treated fairly, paid fairly, and are being fair to the environment. A home that is committed to the purchase and use of fair trade goods is a “Fair Trade Home.”  What was started in America by one woman with a vision has become a global movement involving over 60 countries, 1.5 million workers. In America, over 1,500 companies and retailers offer fair trade goods, there are 13 fair trade towns, and over 300 college campuses that support fair trade.  The purpose of Fair Trade My Home is to raise greater awareness of fair trade to the American consumer, so that each person will choose to integrate more fair trade purchases into his or her regular buying habits, and cut down on poverty both in America and around the world.  EARTH’S SWEET PLEASURES not only creates fair trade products/supports fair trade, it is actively encouraging the community to join in making homes fair.

ABOUT WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY - World Fair Trade Day is a global celebration of fair trade and will be held in 2010 on May 8th. In North America, Fair Trade Resource Network is leading the World Fair Trade Day 2010 event with complimentary efforts from the Fair Trade the White House campaign. In 2009, World Fair Trade Day involved 65,020 people at 456 events covered by 101 media stories. www.ftrn.org.

ABOUT FAIR TRADE MY HOME - The theme of Fair Trade My Home is an extension of the Fair Trade the White House campaign, a coalition of fair trade vendors and organizations which are inviting the First Lady to join the fair trade movement and make the White House a “Fair Trade Home.” www.fairtrademyhome.com   www.fairtradewhitehouse.com  

valentine’s day simplify your holiday (from New Dream.org)

Do you sometimes feel that traditional displays of love and caring for the planet just aren’t in harmony?  This Valentine’s Day, you don’t need to buy expensive jewelry or chocolate to show someone how much you care.  New Dream’s new Simplify Your Valentine’s Day Guide, an expansion of our perennially popular Simplify the Holiday’s guide, will show you how to celebrate a simpler and less consumption-oriented Valentine’s Day this year.  The guide is filled with concrete advice on how to find environmentally and socially-responsible alternatives to traditional Valentine’s Day gifts, as well as recommendations on how to organize a memorable, non-material oriented holiday.  New Dream also extends a very special thank you to everyone who submitted their personal stories for inclusion in the guide!

Change the Way We Celebrate Valentine’s Day:     

Every year, do you think to yourself, “I really want to get ny loved ones something special for Valentine’s Day, but I’m tired of the same old consumer junk?”   Why not treat your loved ones to really special gifts this year?  Give Valentines from the heart.  Choose something that makes you feel good inside.  For example, why not plant a tree in your loved one’s honor?  Visit the Arbor Day Foundation for the gift of a tree.  Or, perhaps you could give a donation in your loved one’s name to one of the many Haiti relief efforts, like Mercy Corps, my personal favorite.  If you feel like you want to put something more tangible into your loved one’s hands, try fair trade, organic chocolates and/or flowers.  Earth’s Sweet Pleasures makes delicious organic, fair trade fudge.  Visit It’s Only Natural Gifts and Kate’s Caring Gifts for all natural, fair trade gift baskets.  Try Organic Bouquet for delivered flowers, or Google a local organic flower grower.  You can also visit websites such as TransFair, Rainforest Alliance and New Dream for more ideas.  These sites will lead you to ever more information on sustainable gift giving and continue to open your horizons to a new way of being.