Ivory Coast Chocolatier -- WEB
Metadata
- Ivory Coast Chocolatier -- WEB
- May 25, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English vory Coast Chocolatier - Ciyow HEADLINE: Ivory Coast Chocolatier Strives to Sweeten Cocoa Processors’ Earnings TEASER: PUBLISHED: 5/25/2022 at 1:40pm BYLINE: Yassin Ciyow CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast VIDEOGRAPHER: Youenn Gourlay PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: KE; MAS VIDEO SOURCE (S): PLATFORMS: Web __ TV_x_ Radio___ TRT: 3:03 VID APPROVED BY: KE TYPE: TV PKG EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRO)) [[In Ivory Coast, an artisanal chocolatier blends good flavor and good intentions in his work. Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou trains women to get good taste and good profits from the cocoa beans they process, as Yassin Ciyow observes in this report narrated by Carol Guensburg. ((NARRATOR)) Le Chocolatier Ivorien’s handcrafted bars are prized – especially after last March, when the brand was judged “Best Chocolate in the World” at the Paris International Agricultural Show. Maybe that’s not surprising. Ivory Coast is the world’s top producer of cocoa beans, the key ingredient. Each bar is hand-wrapped in paper mimicking African fabric design. ((Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou in processing center, where women sort beans )) ((Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou, Chocolatier (in French) )) “Bonjour, bonjour, hey, mamas!” ((NARRATOR)) Chocolatier Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou starts with organic or fair-trade cocoa beans. He traveled one recent day from his base in coastal Abidjan to the south-central Ivory Coast town of Toumodi to buy a few kilos. ((Axel Emmanuel Gbaou, Chocolatier (in French) )) “It is pure cocoa, which smells very good and can make good-quality chocolate. Hand processing increases the value of these beans. That can add value to the women’s daily lives.” ((NARRATOR)) The women select, shell and roast the cocoa beans, handling more than half of the transformation from cocoa to chocolate. By doing all this work themselves they can sometimes quadruple the value of the raw bean. Most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa is exported in raw form. ((Valentine Yao, Manager of the CoopBel Cooperative (in French) )) “Since we started this job, things have improved. We work daily. It gives us income that helps us take care of our children, our husbands.” ((NARRATION)) Valentine Yao is a manager with CoopBel cooperative. Gbaou, who briefly worked in banking before starting his chocolate business in 2015, joined forces with the cooperative and a network of farmers striving for better pay. He estimates he has trained 2,000 people – mostly women – in the early stages of chocolate production. He volunteers his time. ((Axel Emmanuel Gbaou, Chocolate Maker (in French))) “Sixty percent of the energy of a classic chocolate factory goes into this stage of roasting, shelling, and I don't have the capacity at home. I have outsourced with these women, so I waste less energy, these women earn something, and everyone is happy. Everyone wins.” ((NARRATOR)) Gbaou completes the chocolate making in his Abidjan kitchen. He adds flavorings such as cashew, lemongrass and ginger. A single bar sells for roughly $5 in Europe and the United States, Le Chocolatier Ivorien’s biggest markets. It’s also sold domestically. Now, Gbaou aims to increase production – and to make chocolate more affordable, including for the West Africans who grow it. Many of them are poor. ((Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou, Chocolatier (in French) )) “My next step is to scale up with an industrial unit that will manufacture chocolate. … I want an industrial unit which will put chocolate in the local market and in the sub-region and for the whole world.” ((Narrator)) Gbaou hopes to triple his production and broaden distribution. He wants to sweeten the lives of more Ivoriens and others. For Yassin Ciyow in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, I’m Carol Guensburg, VOA News
- Transcript/Script vory Coast Chocolatier - Ciyow HEADLINE: Ivory Coast Chocolatier Strives to Sweeten Cocoa Processors’ Earnings TEASER: PUBLISHED: 5/25/2022 at 1:40pm BYLINE: Yassin Ciyow CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast VIDEOGRAPHER: Youenn Gourlay PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: KE; MAS VIDEO SOURCE (S): PLATFORMS: Web __ TV_x_ Radio___ TRT: 3:03 VID APPROVED BY: KE TYPE: TV PKG EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRO)) [[In Ivory Coast, an artisanal chocolatier blends good flavor and good intentions in his work. Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou trains women to get good taste and good profits from the cocoa beans they process, as Yassin Ciyow observes in this report narrated by Carol Guensburg. ((NARRATOR)) Le Chocolatier Ivorien’s handcrafted bars are prized – especially after last March, when the brand was judged “Best Chocolate in the World” at the Paris International Agricultural Show. Maybe that’s not surprising. Ivory Coast is the world’s top producer of cocoa beans, the key ingredient. Each bar is hand-wrapped in paper mimicking African fabric design. ((Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou in processing center, where women sort beans )) ((Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou, Chocolatier (in French) )) “Bonjour, bonjour, hey, mamas!” ((NARRATOR)) Chocolatier Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou starts with organic or fair-trade cocoa beans. He traveled one recent day from his base in coastal Abidjan to the south-central Ivory Coast town of Toumodi to buy a few kilos. ((Axel Emmanuel Gbaou, Chocolatier (in French) )) “It is pure cocoa, which smells very good and can make good-quality chocolate. Hand processing increases the value of these beans. That can add value to the women’s daily lives.” ((NARRATOR)) The women select, shell and roast the cocoa beans, handling more than half of the transformation from cocoa to chocolate. By doing all this work themselves they can sometimes quadruple the value of the raw bean. Most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa is exported in raw form. ((Valentine Yao, Manager of the CoopBel Cooperative (in French) )) “Since we started this job, things have improved. We work daily. It gives us income that helps us take care of our children, our husbands.” ((NARRATION)) Valentine Yao is a manager with CoopBel cooperative. Gbaou, who briefly worked in banking before starting his chocolate business in 2015, joined forces with the cooperative and a network of farmers striving for better pay. He estimates he has trained 2,000 people – mostly women – in the early stages of chocolate production. He volunteers his time. ((Axel Emmanuel Gbaou, Chocolate Maker (in French))) “Sixty percent of the energy of a classic chocolate factory goes into this stage of roasting, shelling, and I don't have the capacity at home. I have outsourced with these women, so I waste less energy, these women earn something, and everyone is happy. Everyone wins.” ((NARRATOR)) Gbaou completes the chocolate making in his Abidjan kitchen. He adds flavorings such as cashew, lemongrass and ginger. A single bar sells for roughly $5 in Europe and the United States, Le Chocolatier Ivorien’s biggest markets. It’s also sold domestically. Now, Gbaou aims to increase production – and to make chocolate more affordable, including for the West Africans who grow it. Many of them are poor. ((Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou, Chocolatier (in French) )) “My next step is to scale up with an industrial unit that will manufacture chocolate. … I want an industrial unit which will put chocolate in the local market and in the sub-region and for the whole world.” ((Narrator)) Gbaou hopes to triple his production and broaden distribution. He wants to sweeten the lives of more Ivoriens and others. For Yassin Ciyow in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, I’m Carol Guensburg, VOA News
- NewsML Media Topics Conflict, War and Peace, Economy, Business and Finance
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date May 25, 2022 15:53 EDT
- Description English In Ivory Coast, an artisanal chocolatier blends good flavor and good intentions in his work. Axel-Emmanuel Gbaou trains women to get good taste and good profits from the cocoa beans they process, as Yassin Ciyow observes in this report narrated by Carol Guensburg.
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English