Did you know?

*70 percent of cocoa is produced by small holder farmers in West Africa, primarily Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. Indonesia, Brazil, and Ecuador are also major cocoa-producing countries.

*Cocoa trees take about five years to reach peak production and can continue producing at that level for about ten years.

*Chocolate is made from the seeds of cocoa pods, a tree-grown fruit. After harvesting, the seeds are removed from the pods and processed (fermented, dried, then roasted).

*It takes about 500 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate. In an average year, a cocoa tree produces enough fruit to make about two pounds of chocolate.

An estimated two million children work on cocoa farms. Up to 40 percent of these children are not enrolled in school. Many Cocoa farmers are exposed to numerous hazards, including dangerous tools, dust, flames or
smoke, hazardous chemicals, and physically demanding labor. Fair Trade standards prohibit child labor, and community development premiums are often used to improve access to education. Fair Trade standards also prohibit harmful chemicals and provide a framework for environmental sustainability. The Fair Trade minimum price protects farmers against market volatility by ensuring a minimum sale price for their crops.

We love chocolate and other products made with cocoa. It is part of our daily lives. At the same time, many people do not know how tough cocoa farming is, nor do they know the impact of choosing one chocolate bar over another. By choosing chocolate with the Fair Trade logo, you are standing up for the people and places involved in the cocoa industry.  MPTC bookstores carry Divine Chocolate bars. Look for the Fair Trade logo on all chocolate you buy at your grocery store or local market.

Find out more about Fair Trade and MPTC Fair Trade College!

Register here to join our virtual conversation on October 14 at 7 pm.

Emily Ambrose and Leif Rawson-Ahern of Equal Exchange will provide information on the Fair Trade movement: alternative trade organizations, worker-owned cooperatives, building small farmer supply chains, sustainability, and a farmer-partner group.

Find out how globally-grown chocolate and coffee make their way here and about Equal Exchange’s relationship with local organizations that support Fair Trade.

Learn more about Moraine Park Fair Trade College here!

Moraine Park Cultural Connections is an exciting, fun way to build real world career and life skills, gain self-confidence, and expand your awareness of diversity, global perspective and social responsibility.

Do you need 3 credits of social science to complete your degree requirements?  If so, your cultural connections experience may be financial aid eligible!  Each experience is linked to the MPTC online course Intro to Diversity. Check with your academic advisor today!

View our upcoming Cultural Connections opportunities! All opportunities are linked to academic course credit, financial aid-eligible and intended to give each student participant a meaningful experience outside the classroom, as well as the chance to have an impact on our local, domestic and global community.

Stop in at one of our upcoming information sessions! Each session is on all 3 campuses.

February 25

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. in A203, K204 and L151

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. in A203, K201 and N116

5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in E141, K209 and L151

February 26

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. in E141, K313 and L151

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. in E141, K313 and L151

5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in A203, K204 and N116

For more information, contact Anne Lemke, Student Community Impact Coordinator, alemke2@morainepark.edu or 920-924-3329

Learn more about cultural connections travel on the Study Abroad Association’s website.

Join us on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 11:30 am in the Moraine Park Technical College cafeteria as we hear firsthand from several Fond du Lac Hmong community members as they talk about their service during the Vietnam War and, the struggles they face to be accepted as veterans, as well as the effects it has had on their families.

America hasn’t always been thankful for Hmong veterans who risked their lives in secrecy in Laos during the Vietnam War. These veterans, trained by the CIA, played a critical role during the Vietnam War, and Wisconsin is home to the third largest concentration of Hmong in the U.S. after California and Minnesota and almost 50,000 Hmong were living in Wisconsin during the 2010 Census.

March 29th is also significant because it is Vietnam Veterans Day. A national day of recognition when we honor the nine million American men and women who served on active duty from November 1st, 1955, to May 7th, 1975 during the Vietnam war and solemnly remember the more than 58,000 whose names are etched into the Vietnam Memorial’s polished black granite—constant reminders of the price of freedom.

For additional information contact Steve Pepper, Moraine Park Technical College’s Student Veteran Specialist at spepper1@morainepark.edu or 920-924-3489.

This year, Moraine Park participated in a study abroad opportunity with other technical colleges to send students to Ireland for 2 weeks.  Our partner college in Ireland is the Waterford Institute of Technology and we work with them to expand students’ knowledge of business and explore issues from a global perspective. During this study abroad course, students participated in classes with Irish instructors and attend business tours while being immersed in another culture.

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Moraine Park Technical College students are gearing up to study abroad this spring. Their destinations? Germany and Ireland!

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We don’t often stop to think about where chocolate comes from, nor do we think about the farmers that grow and harvest cocoa beans to make the chocolate that we enjoy. The health news on chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is quite positive, and allows some guilt-free pleasure, after all! But not all chocolate is created equal, and educating students and staff about the differences in cocoa (also called cacao) bean farming was the end goal of the Fair Trade My Valentine event held on February 13th on all Moraine Park Technical College campuses.
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Would you be interested in learning abroad? Would you like to experience a culture unique from your own? Would you like to make the difference in the lives of many? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is an opportunity for you. Join me as we travel on March 17th, 2018 to TecPan, Guatemala. Explore the beautiful country of Guatemala, experiencing the sights, food, music, and culture of this magnificent ancient Mayan civilization. Enjoy all of the beauty, while volunteering at the local schools helping the community with vision screenings.
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Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Experience a different culture? Discover new places? Go on an amazing adventure?

You can do all of this and more on Moraine Park’s upcoming study abroad program in Belize. Belize is an English-speaking country in Central America with a rich culture and diverse natural resources ranging from tropical rain forest to coral reefs. We’ll be traveling to Southern Belize, where students will stay in a rural village, eat with local families and experience Mayan culture first-hand. While there, students will participate in numerous activities relating to sustainability and renewable energy such as:
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