{"id":183,"date":"2021-11-01T10:23:15","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T08:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.hamk.fi\/hamk-in-africa\/?p=183"},"modified":"2021-11-01T10:23:15","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T08:23:15","slug":"organic-fertilizer-from-cocoa-side-streams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.hamk.fi\/hamk-in-africa\/organic-fertilizer-from-cocoa-side-streams\/","title":{"rendered":"Organic fertilizer from cocoa side streams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Our team worked on\u00a0a cocoa sustainability project for Kultasuklaa\u00a0Oy. The results were presented at the Arctic Choco Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cocoa sustainability from different points of view<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The cocoa projects were carried out by three teams,\u00a0and the topics given were social sustainability\u00a0issues, economic sustainability\u00a0issues\u00a0and\u00a0utilization of cocoa side streams for local biogas and biochar production.\u00a0Our team selected economic sustainability\u00a0issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our team consisted of six Finnish students, two exchange students from Spain, and\u00a0eventually, a few students from Ghana. Getting started in this project work was quite difficult, but after a long period of\u00a0brainstorming, we finally started writing the report and agreed on the goal of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fertilizer from cocoa pod husks<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In our report, we\u00a0discuss\u00a0common problems related to cocoa production, such as human rights and climate problems,\u00a0as well as\u00a0cocoa economy and certificates.\u00a0We\u00a0also\u00a0investigated\u00a0what and how cocoa side streams can be utilized. We chose one side stream to focus more precisely on,\u00a0around which we came up with a business plan. We chose\u00a0Cocoa Pod Husk\u00a0fertilization\u00a0as our topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on background studies, we believe that using CPH in fertilizers\u00a0would help in the production of cocoa and other plants or fruits. CPH contains a lot of nutrients and minerals that would enrich the soil. Our business plans\u00a0focused especially on the southwestern parts of Ghana, where farmers generally use fertilizers less than others. In the report, we considered that farmers should jointly set up a cooperative and produce CPH fertilizer together. Each farmer would be allowed to use the necessary amount of fertilizer produced, and the surplus could be sold outside the cooperative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Presenting our results at the Arctic\u00a0Cocoa Conference<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
We presented a slideshow based on the report at the Arctic Cocoa Conference on October 13, 2021. We also prepared a scientific poster, which was presented along with the slideshow. In addition to ours, two other teams presented their project results at the conference. Other speakers at the conference included Juri Kaskela, CEO of Kultasuklaa, and professors and cocoa experts from Ghana and Finland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the speeches and presentations, the participants were divided into Zoom breakout rooms to consider\u00a0a\u00a0case issued in smaller groups. In the case,\u00a0a\u00a0person wanted to set up a chocolate\u00a0manufacturing\u00a0plant\u00a0in Ghana,\u00a0and he wanted the company to follow fair trade guidelines.\u00a0Us\u00a0students were given the question of what should this person take into consideration to ensure achieving\u00a0his vision?\u00a0Each\u00a0group\u00a0had 20 minutes to discuss\u00a0the\u00a0case.\u00a0After that,\u00a0team leaders or some other spokesperson\u00a0introduced\u00a0the\u00a0ideas\u00a0of the group to everyone. Jenna Kankaanp\u00e4\u00e4 from CrazyTown H\u00e4meenlinna\u00a0also\u00a0asked\u00a0a few questions from each student group\u00a0concerning\u00a0their topics.\u00a0After the conference,\u00a0Kultasuklaa\u00a0gave us a little taste of the chocolate they make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Doing such a project was new to all of us in this team, but together we got through\u00a0this,\u00a0and we have a comprehensive report which hopefully will help to develop the economic situation of cocoa farmers. Thank you to everyone involved in the project and those who helped us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have a nice autumn everyone!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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