The dramatic increases in prices for cocoa on the world market have received much media attention. Sadly, these increases have not been passed on to Ivorian cocoa farmers because the Ivorian government fixed the price for cocoa at the start of the harvest last October. Changes in the weather and the spread of diseases resulted in a terrible harvest. Farmers had much less cocoa to sell, which has meant that poverty in the cocoa villages has become more widespread and the risk of child labour has increased.

Nearly 1500 villagers, of whom over 50% are women, have joined CABOZ Action’s Savings and Loans groups (AVECs) and are receiving regular coaching in running small businesses to supplement their incomes. We saw several examples in the villages we visited in February, such as growing and processing vegetables like cassava to running a local food or fuel shop.

Our staff have surveyed nearly 1400 families in the villages where we work to identify those where child labour could be a risk. If some or all of the children are not going to school, our two supervisors, Lydie and Fulbert, discuss possible solutions with them, such as setting up a school fund in the local AVEC or getting a birth certificate for the children.

Lack of school canteens makes it difficult for children who live far away to attend school. This is why we are keen to build more. So far we have sponsored three, and inaugurated the newest one in Flampleau in February (see March Newsletter).

It was a cold day and the hot chocolate we were selling at the CABOZ Action stand at the SchoggiFestival proved popular. The drink is made from cocoa powder produced by the Ivorian chocolate manufacturer Tafissa from local cocoa beans, some of which come from SCOPACI, the co-operative that CABOZ works with.

We were able to visit the factory in San Pedro during our trip in February and were pleased to see Tafissa products in the hotels and supermarkets we went to.

If you would like to try this cocoa drink imported direct from Côte d’Ivoire, please visit our stand at the Festival of Nations on 23 June in Nussbaumen, near Baden. Kathrin Heitz Tokpa, the president of CABOZ Action Côte d’Ivoire, will also be present and will talk about some of our more recent projects.

On 10 February les Eléphants, as the Ivorian national football team is popularly called, won the Africa Cup of Nations. When our travel group arrived on 14 February, the country was still celebrating and we were treated to three mini football matches in the cocoa villages. Fortunately, we were prepared, and our luggage included over 30 Kg of donated football equipment, which has since been distributed in four different villages. Many thanks to the different Swiss clubs that contributed.