Amandine LARIDON
Marketing & Communication at Dolfin since 2020
Dear Reader,
I am writing to you today with stars in my eyes and my head full of memories. I have just returned from Côte d’Ivoire and I would like to share my experiences within the ‘PARC’ Community. Please read the article about the PARC Community if you don’t know what it is.
To tell you the truth, it is difficult for me to put into words a trip that turned out to be unforgettable. There was so much sharing, so many discoveries and emotions… It was simply magical!
First of all, we could not have received a more beautiful welcome than the one the Community gave us. It was warm and so moving. I get chills and a lump in my throat just thinking about it. Everyone was waiting for us impatiently. All the hands shaken, the smiles, the kindness, … Each conversation I had with the inhabitants was more rewarding than the last.
This was not my first trip to Africa. Yet, I was still so unnerved by how much these people have to give when they have nothing… And believe me, they really do have nothing! The PARC Community does not even have access to drinking water… What would we do without drinking water? It is so vital in our lives!
Access to education and health care is inevitably not part of their daily lives either.
Now that I am back in Europe, my goal is simple, namely to make chocolate consumers aware of the living conditions of cocoa farmers.
Today, I am proud to be part of a company that acts sustainably and whose efforts are practical and measurable. Thanks to the chocolate we buy from Dolfin, as part of our “Cocoa Act 4” programme, €0.10/kg are set aside and considered a “Chocolate Bonus”. Given our volumes, this allows us to set up projects based on the real needs of the inhabitants. I feel secure in the knowledge that the conditions of the PARC Community will be better in just a few years. In 2023, we will install a drinking water pump.
“We are not big enough to make THE change, but we are big enough to make A change and the impacts of our actions.”
For more information about our “Cocoa Act 4” project, go here and read our various articles on the subject.
