‘STORYBOMBS’ are being distributed in Ilkley in a town-wide quiz as part of Fairtrade Fortnight.

The event, which runs from February 24 to March 8 is focusing on living incomes for cocoa farmers. Ilkley Fairtrade Group’s main activity will be a quiz with a prize of chocolate bars. The group says the quiz is designed to highlight the plight of many cocoa farmers who live in extreme poverty, despite the UK chocolate industry being worth at least £4 billion a year.

The group says the average cocoa farmer in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, where 60 percent of all cocoa is grown, earns less than 75p a day. The poverty line is around £1.40 per day.

The quiz has two questions, and the answers can be found in special Fairtrade Foundation ‘storybombs’, telling the stories of Therese and Edith, Fairtrade cocoa farmers in Cote d’Ivoire. They will be in ‘plain sight’ in lots of locations. Anyone who wants to take part should track one down and email the answers, together with their name, to ilkleyfairtradegroup@gmail.com.

The questions are: ‘What can Therese’s children do which she couldn’t?’ and ‘What did Edith set up’?

The storybombs can be found at Oxfam Bookshop, The Grove Bookshop, the library, the Manor House, Dan’s Den, Clip and Climb and Christchurch Cafe. A winner will be chosen at random from all correct answers. The closing date is March 8.

Ilkley Fairtrade Group chairwoman Karen Palframan, said: “We hope the quiz will provide a bit of fun, whilst highlighting serious issues. It’s appalling that millions of farmers in the developing world live in poverty and don’t earn a living income. To make matters worse, climate change is also threatening their livelihoods. More frequent droughts, wet seasons and weather extremes are hitting production and causing plant diseases. Fairtrade certification standards and training are helping to find solutions and achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability for farmers, as well as assistance for their communities”.

Group members will be at Ilkley Manor House on February 29 and March 1 from 11am to 4pm. There will be children’s activities and a stall selling Traidcraft products. Oxfam is offering a 20 per cent discount on Fairtrade food and drink until March 10.

Christchurch, which is a Fairtrade church, will run a stall at the Real Food Ilkley market on March 1, and will have information and storybombs, as well as some of the Traidcraft items that are for sale in the church foyer between and after morning services on the first Sunday of the month.

The Flying Duck pub will host a curry night on Thursday March 5, from 6.30pm to 8pm. Fairly traded Malawian JTS Kilombero rice will be served with a choice of curries. Every 90kg of JTS rice sold funds a year of secondary school education for a child in Malawi, and profits from the night will be used to buy ploughs for women farmers in Malawi. Contact the Flying duck to book a place or visit the stall at the Manor House event. The suggested price is £5.