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AP FILE PHOTO

A boy works in a cocoa field in Saykro, Ivory Coast, in 2005.

What a difference a year can make. Last year, three families participated in Reverse Trick or Treating. This year there will be 100, plus several school groups.

Reverse Trick or Treating is just as it sounds. When given candy by neighbors, children give back fair trade chocolate with a flier telling of child labor in the cocoa industry, specifically in West Africa, said Yuri Friman, chairman of the Amherst Fair Trade Partnership.

According to a study of the Ivory Coast released in 2005 from the State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, research showed that more than 100,000 child laborers worked in hazardous conditions on cocoa farms in that country.

The goal of fair trade is to challenge traditional farming methods to enable the farmer to profit without using forced or child labor, harmful environmental processes or fear fluctuating prices that might leave them poverty-stricken. Fair trade-certified chocolate guarantees that the farmers who grow the cocoa don't use child labor, use sustainable agriculture and have stable prices, Friman said. Both Amherst and Northampton have passed resolutions to become "fair trade towns."

About 1,500 fair trade chocolates are slated to be distributed in the area this Halloween, Friman said.

"I am so satisfied that the response to this year's (Reverse Trick or Treating) efforts have expanded so greatly," said Friman. "Potentially 1,500 families or individuals will be reached."

The eighth-grade class at Hartsbrook School in Hadley is participating. John Caemmerer's 24 students will hand out about 200 fair trade chocolates while trick or treating.

"I would have begun before this year, but I just found out about it myself," Caemmerer said in an email. "The importance of this campaign, as far as I'm concerned, is that it raises consciousness around the true cost of one of the luxuries kids (and adults) enjoy and offers a clear and easy way to avoid supporting inhumane labor practices," Caemmerer said.

Caemmerer also notes that the exercise is relevant for his class because the students will study Africa later in the year. The cocoa industry is an example of how colonial relationships persist after colonialists have left.

"I hope it becomes a regular activity for our eighth-graders and those in younger grades as well," Caemmerer said.

According to Fair Trade Labeling Organization International, in 2007 global sales of fair trade products increased by 47 percent from 2006. At the same time, fair trade cocoa sales declined from 7.9 metric tons in 2006 to 7.3 metric tons in 2007.

The decrease in fair trade cocoa sales makes Reverse Trick or Treating more important, Friman said.

"What I like to encourage people to think about is this: If you give to charity, take some of that money, spend a little more on fair trade chocolate (which is high-end chocolate) and you are empowering people to help themselves rather than just give charitable help," Friman said.

Friman relates this to the proverb about giving a man a fish or teaching him to fish for himself.

"What I say to people is that I don't want them to spend more, but to spend more consciously," Friman said.

The Reverse Trick or Treating Web site, sponsored by Global Exchange, estimates that nearly 250,000 households will be reached with the fair trade message this Halloween in the U.S. and Canada. The number is up from 47,000 houses last year.

A certification process is in the works for the Ivory Coast and Ghana to ensure cocoa is grown in a way that complies with international labor standards, the World Cocoa Foundation Web site states.

For more information, Friman will have a table at the Amherst Farmers Market Oct. 25 and Nov. 1. For the national organization, go to reversetrickortreating.org. "I hope it becomes a regular activity for our eighth-graders and those in younger grades as well," Caemmerer said.

According to Fair Trade Labeling Organization International, in 2007 global sales of fair trade products increased by 47 percent from 2006. At the same time, fair trade cocoa sales declined from 7.9 metric tons in 2006 to 7.3 metric tons in 2007.

The decrease in fair trade cocoa sales makes Reverse Trick or Treating more important, Friman said.

"What I like to encourage people to think about is this: If you give to charity, take some of that money, spend a little more on fair trade chocolate (which is high-end chocolate) and you are empowering people to help themselves rather than just give charitable help," Friman said.

Friman relates this to the proverb about giving a man a fish or teaching him to fish for himself.

"What I say to people is that I don't want them to spend more, but to spend more consciously," Friman said.

The Reverse Trick or Treating Web site, sponsored by Global Exchange, estimates that nearly 250,000 households will be reached with the fair trade message this Halloween in the U.S. and Canada. The number is up from 47,000 houses last year. A certification process is in the works for the Ivory Coast and Ghana to ensure cocoa is grown in a way that complies with international labor standards, the World Cocoa Foundation Web site states.

For more information, Friman will have a table at the Amherst Farmers Market Oct. 25 and Nov. 1. For the national organization, go to reversetrickortreating.org.