GIVING BACK TO COCOA FARMERS
OUR PARTNERS
Rikolto is an international NGO with more than 50 years’ experience in partnering with farmer organizations and food chain stakeholders across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Their mission is to create sustainable income for farmers and nutritious, affordable food for everyone.
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Three Mountains Cocoa aims to cultivate a brighter future by fostering sustainable, regenerative, and transparent practices in the cocoa industry. They work in organic beans only and are dedicated to empowering cocoa farming communities in Ghana, protecting the environment, and promoting social and economic equity.
We asked the farmers what they needed most and they answered clean, accessible water and additional income:
CURRENT PROJECTS
With our partners, we installed two wells: one in a female co-op called Cocoa Mmaa, and the other in the Three Mountains Cocoa co-op. Clean drinking water improves health and reduces the burden (mostly placed on women and children) to fetch water from far away. It also opens up new opportunities for income diversification, like pig farming.
Pictured: Ellie & Jean travelled to Ghana and got to see the well and pig farming in action!
We started a seedling nursery in the Three Mountains community, which will provide cocoa and agroforestry seedlings to participating farmers. The community decides what they need to plant and chose to start with cocoa seedlings and shade trees, which are essential to growing healthy, long-living cocoa trees. Next up will be fruit trees!
Pictured: seedling nursery progress
Our partners have also begun executing Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs), which assist struggling cocoa farmers, especially widows, who have income only 3-4 months out of the year during the cocoa harvest.
Pictured: Jean and Ellie meeting the Queen Mother who is the only female tribe leader of her co-op and farms about 4 hectares alone