For most kids it's a dream come true. A free box of candy bars sent directly from a major candy company. Not so for our very own activist.


Since April, Rachel has been learning about fair trade products, especially chocolate. When discovering that she would need to do a public presentation in order to be able to show her rabbits at the county fair, she deliberated for quite awhile on what to choose for a topic. After watching another presentation on palm oil, she decided to focus on fair trade chocolate. She had helped me host a fair trade sale for the past two years at church and found the topic fascinating. So, she decided to combine her love of chocolate and her love for human justice, and educate 4Hers about fair trade chocolate. Her club presentation was amazing. She won an award at the County fair and earned a Special Merit Badge - the highest possible honor - at the State Fair. Upon learning that friends of ours were going to be hosting a fair trade sale at their church this year, she mentioned that she had done a fair trade report for 4H, and even showed our friend while she was at our house. One thing led to another, and Rachel ended up doing her presentation as part of a "Living Simply" seminar at the local Lutheran church. Events really rolled from there. Rachel and her friend were subsequently interviewed for an article in Yes! Magazine as well as the Snoqualmie Valley Record.

And then today, the UPS guy walked up our driveway and handed a box to Alex. Rachel looked at the label and wondered if the box was safe. No, really. This thing has gotten bigger then anyone ever imagined. And when you're playing with the big guys, you're playing with fire.



We opened it up to find a case of milk chocolate bars. And well, safe is really relative isn't it? I mean if you consider high fructose corn syrup, soy lecitin and PGPR safe, then we're good - at least on that end. Rachel's friend received a box too. They think it's a bribe to shut-up. I consider it a reminder to learn both sides. Sounds like a year long homeschool project to me.