Cote d’Ivoire Producer Profile

Name: Cooperative Agricole Kavokiva de Daloa
Establsihed: 1999
Fairtrade Certified: Since 2004
Members: 3400

Area/Region

Cote d'Ivoire is known for its high-quality cocoa and more than 40% of the country's cocoa is produced in the region of Daloa, home of Kavokiva. Ravaged with political upheaval and financial crisis, Cote d'Ivoire is one of the world's poorest countries. The region of Daloa is made up of rural villages where cocoa is the main source of cash income for most farmers. The region of Daloa has poorly maintained roads, many villages have no electricity, and drinking water only available from the village well. Access to healthcare is inadequate and the nearest clinic or hospital can be more than 10km away. The illiteracy rate among agricultural communities is as high as 95%, with many schools poorly equipped and too far away for children to attend each day.

Aims and Objectives of the Co-operative

Kavokiva’s mission is to improve the social and economic position of its members by supporting the production and marketing of their cocoa and coffee. This includes paying a higher price for members’ beans than local traders and providing credit for farm inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, school fees, and medical expenses.
Using revenue from Fair Trade sales, Kavokiva has invested in:

Healthcare

Own health centre at Gonaté, with a doctor, midwife, and two nurses available to offer a range of treatment for patients without the need to travel to a public hospital. They have also bought their own ambulance to transport patients from their villages if necessary. This is complimented by a free health insurance scheme with affordable medicines available to all members.

Education

Kavokiva distributes scholarships to members' children so that they can pay the fees to attend school. The Premium has also helped to build schools in some villages where the government school was too far away and where school fees are twice the cost of schools run by the co-operative.
With the Fairtrade Premium money the cooperative can provide some very basic classrooms and equipment such as blackboards. Kavokiva has also purchased supplies for remote schools. A women’s literacy program has also been set up with Fairtrade Premium money.

Production

A qualified agronomist has been hired to improve farming techniques and yields. Bicycles have been distributed to farmers so that they can get to and from their farms more easily.

Child Protection

Kavokiva had a Child Labour Charter in place for its members prior to receiving Fairtrade certification. The Charter clarifies the difference between children helping on the family farm in their spare time and exploitative, illegal practices. It includes guidelines for members on identifying child labour and what action they should take if they come across it. Twenty-one committees are in place across the regional sections to implement the Charter and educate members about it. In rural communities in Côte d’Ivoire, as in countries around the world, children help out on family farms. This activity is not considered as child labour in the Fairtrade system if and only if it does not affect children’s health and personal development, or interfere with their schooling. Fairtrade certified producers must meet standards which prohibit child labour and include procedures to identify and rectify non-compliance.

Sources: http://www.fairtrade.net/cocoa_growers.html

Products Produced by this Co-op

Drinking Chocolate