The project
The newly built primary school replaces the old one that could not accommodate children during rainy season. It consists of 3 classrooms, a principal’s office, and a toilet block, and now offers students good learning conditions throughout the year.
Next to the school, we also built a canteen and equipped it with cooking stoves and utensils. The establishment of this canteen has several objectives. First, it provides children with food security and helps improve student attendance in the afternoon. Without it, children, especially younger ones, would have too far to walk to go home for lunch, and would not necessarily go back to school in the afternoon, and those that did, go back tired.
Here is how it works: some community women grow food crops for the canteen, while others take charge of preparing meals for the children. The meal is charged around 25 CFAF (€0.04), the proceeds being used to pay women for their work and buy food not produced on site.
Our partner Ecookim also contributes by furnishing the director’s office, providing tables and benches for the canteen’s dining area, and supplying the canteen with one hectare’s worth of vegetable seeds.
The Valrhona Foundation’s commitment to education in the Ivory Coast for cocoa-producing communities is part of a long-term program co-constructed with local communities. Another primary school was opened in Nadjette in the spring and a second canteen is also planned for 2021.
Côte d’Ivoire: Experience of putting the canteen in Konedougou into service
November 10th, 2021
“Attendance of students in the afternoon has increased from 50% to 90% since the canteen was commissioned.”
Stéphane Sabourin, Cacao Sourcer, went to Côte d’Ivoire in October 2021. Here is his story of the canteen built in Konedougou in Côte d’Ivoire.
“The Valrhona Foundation financed the construction of a school canteen in the village of Kouaméblekro. It features a fully-equipped kitchen and a dining area with 120 seats. Meals are prepared by five women who are part of an association. Our local partner the CAPEDIG Cooperative has set up a monitoring committee bringing together members of the cooperative, teachers and parents of students to ensure that the canteen is well managed and maintained, thus ensuring its sustainability.
The lack of on-site lunch facilities is a major factor in poor attendance in schools. Children have no choice but to return home at noon, which can be a long walk. Many do not come back in the afternoon, especially younger children. The distance between a child’s home and school is an important risk factor for child labor. Some children meet their parents working in the field or on plantations.
The canteen has been in service since the start of the school year in September 2021. It is located opposite the primary school inaugurated in May 2021, itself rebuilt thanks to the Valrhona Foundation. The number of students in the school increased from 148 to 211. As for the attendance of students in the afternoon, it has increased from 50% to 90% since the canteen opened!”
The new public primary school in the village of Kouameblekro, for the Konedougou region
Inauguration of the Konedougou region canteen in the village of Kouameblekro on May 7th, 2021
Lunch in the new canteen
