News from ICI
- Bridging classes in Guémon: ICI, TRECC and Nestlé support access to education in cocoa-growing communities24 January 2022Tobly Bangolo1 is a cocoa farming community located 15 km from Duékoué. At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, a group of students who had graduated from bridging classes (classes organized to help children who have been out of school, catch up with their peers) entered the formal school system. To support them on their journey, the children received a school kit composed of a bag, a journal, a box of chalk, a set of notebooks, notebook protectors, a compass, a slate, pens and a pack of crayons. This activity was organized as part of the TRECC program (Transforming Education in CocoaRead more
- Matthias Lange to become new ICI Executive Director24 November 2021Matthias Lange has been appointed ICI’s new Executive Director as Nick Weatherill departs after ten years at the head of the organization.Read more
- International food company Meiji joins the International Cocoa Initiative24 November 2021Meiji, an international food company based in Japan, has become the first Japanese company to join the International Cocoa Initiative as a contributing partner, to address the issues of child labour in the cocoa supply chain.Read more
- Cocoa processor GCB joins ICI as a contributing partner22 November 2021Malaysia-headquartered cocoa processor Guan Chong Berhard (GCB) has joined ICI as a contributing partner, as part of its focus on tackling child labour in the cocoa supply chain.Read more
- Cocoa coalition outlines its proposals for ambitious EU legislation to benefit farmers, producer countries and consumers18 October 2021We, a group of companies (Ferrero, Mars Wrigley, Mondelēz International, Nestle, Tony’s Chocolonely), certification organisations (Fairtrade International, Rainforest Alliance), NGOs (Fair Trade Advocacy Office, VOICE Network) and multi-stakeholder organisationsRead more
- Hydroponic farming in Ahondo - Nestlé trains 120 women14 October 2021Encouraging women’s empowerment and diversifying their income-generating activities is the motivation behind this innovative pilot project, set up by ICI and financed by Nestlé. The creation of the project, to promote the hydroponic cultivation of tomatoes, builds on the success and enthusiasm of a number of already existing women’s village savings and loans groups (VSLAs) and brings together 120 women from Ahondo (12km from Taabo) divided into groups of 30 women.Read more
- ICI and the Department of Children take child labour awareness raising to Ghana's Volta region11 October 2021The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and the Department of Children (DoC) under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, recently undertook awareness-raising on child labour andRead more