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Article

27 Apr 2017

Author:
Eastern Congo Initiative & Lush Cosmetics USA

Dem. Rep. of Congo: Lush Cosmetics sources cocoa from small but growing farming sector supported by Eastern Congo Initiative

Growing Peace Through Cocoa in Congo, 17 April 2017

Baraka Kasali was born in Congo but spent years studying and living in the United States... [In] his homeland...conflict and economic insecurity have limited access to employment, education and healthcare... There’s officially no war in Congo today, but multiple armed groups continue to terrorize civilians... 

...[Growing] or harvesting natural resources can make farmers or producers the undeserving targets of conflict and violence by armed groups. But cocoa is the exception. It’s been described as nearly conflict-proof because the cocoa bean doesn’t become valuable until after it’s fermented and dried, and this takes time and knowledge—neither of which the armed groups have at their disposal...

Kasali [joined] Eastern Congo Initiative—an organization focused on creating opportunities for economic and social development in eastern Congo...[and is helping revitalise] the country’s struggling cocoa industry by helping farmers to produce higher quality cocoa while providing greater access to international buyers.  One of those buyers is Greg Pinch from Lush Cosmetics... Pinch traveled to Congo to meet hundreds of farmers in 2016. He learned they had used their fair trade premiums to build a school for their children and infrastructure for storing and sorting cocoa beans. He...is glad to say that the company’s demand for cocoa is steadily increasing every year....  Kasali hopes this will set a precedent for future business in the area. “Companies must listen to the farmers and work with them as partners,” he said. “Lush’s respect for the farmers in eastern Congo is setting a new standard for how companies should engage in the region.”