School and canteen in Konedougou, Ivory Coast

YEAR

2021

LOCATION

Konedougou, Ivory Coast

Cost & progress

€74,195

Partners

Together with our local partner Ecookim, in the spring of 2021 we completed construction on a complex including a primary school and canteen in the community of Konedougou. The establishment currently schools 213 children. This project is part of our program facilitating access to education in the Ivory Coast, which aims to promote education in rural areas, encourage good academic performance, and combat child labor.

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 in and a second canteen is also planned for 2021.