Consommons Ivoirien: food education project in Ivory Coast

The conflict that broke out in Ivory Coast during September 2002 had an enormous impact on the Korhogo region in the north of the country, seriously affecting agriculture and food production. Women, who make up the majority of the agricultural workforce, suffered a significant reduction in their income and many children throughout the country stopped going to school.

Since Slow Food Chigata was formed in 2006, the convivium has been leading work in the village of N'Ganon to organize a women's farming cooperative, with the particular aim of providing quality, local food for school meals. Prior to this project, meals at the school canteen were being prepared with low quality products due to the inadequate funding available. The resulting poor quality meals meant many students were choosing to return home at lunchtime and the women had to interrupt their day's work in the fields to cook - thus reducing their income. Meanwhile food was being wasted at the school.

Today the N'Ganon cooperative grows food in a seven-hectare plot of land using organic methods. Part of the harvest goes to the women's families, a second part is donated to the school canteen and a third part is sold on the local market, providing an income for the women.

This scenario is common to many villages in the region, and the goal is to rollout this project with other interested communities. In 2010, the project will be replicated in the nearby village of Nangounkaha (2,500 inhabitants) in conjunction with the local primary school and their school canteen. A new community vegetable garden of seven hectares will be set up and managed by the women of the village working in a farming cooperative, and the produce will be shared between the families, the school canteen and the commercial market.

The cost of delivering the project in 2010 is € 22,700 according to the following breakdown:

• Equipment and seeds for the new community garden € 5,000
• Construction of a community well and mill € 6,800
• Training course for the women on basic agricultural methods € 3,000
• Support staff and educational materials for food education at the school € 4,000
• Project communication and awareness activities € 800
• Educational visits to the community garden € 200
• Project coordination and operational support € 2,900

For further information, click here to view a photo story of this project »