In Ivory Coast, organic chocolate made with a bicycle
FILE PHOTO: Dana Mroueh, owner of the handmade organic raw chocolate factory "Mon Choco", grinds cocoa beans with the help of a bicycle in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 10, 2019. Picture taken January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Dana Mroueh's chocolate factory is a rarity for Ivory Coast and not only because the world's top cocoa grower produces precious little finished chocolate.
In the middle of the floor of her company Mon Choco's factory sits a grinding bike, surrounded by trays of carefully sorted cocoa beans. Poured in a funnel, beans are transformed into a paste by a grinder activated through pedaling.
FILE PHOTO: Handmade organic raw chocolate made with cocoa beans ground with the help of a bicycle is seen at a factory in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
Mroueh, a 40-year-old Ivorian of French-Lebanese descent, oversees the process from the time the beans are selected to when they are transformed into candies, producing organic and environmentally friendly chocolate bars.
"We really want to have a minimal impact on the environment by using as little electricity as possible," Mroueh said as she supervised a small team of employees in white coats sorting the beans.
"My chocolate is made up of 70 percent cocoa and 30 percent brown sugar. We don't add cocoa butter or plant oil. It's only raw cocoa and sugar," Mroueh said.
A vendor sells "Mon Choco", handmade organic raw chocolates made with cocoa beans ground with the help of a bicycle in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
The cocoa industry is threatening to the environment, including by contributing to deforestation. Environmental campaign groups say that Ivory Coast is at risk of losing all its forest cover by 2034.
But organic cocoa beans are difficult to find in Ivory Coast, where the overwhelming majority of farmers use chemicals and insecticides.
As a result, organic chocolate is expensive to produce and caters primarily to the European market. Mon Choco chocolate bars sell for around 1,500 CFA francs ($2.60), a price that is out of reach for most local consumers.
A worker holds a piece of Mon Choco" chocolate, handmade organic raw chocolates made with cocoa beans ground with a bicycle in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 10, 2019. Picture taken January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
Mon Choco and other initiatives of the kind are developing in Ivory Coast but represent a niche market of only 5,000 tonnes of beans per year, in a country that produces more than 2 million tonnes every year.
(Editing by Juliette Jabkhiro and Jason Neely)
A worker holds a jar of "Mon Choco", handmade organic raw chocolates made with cocoa beans ground with the help of a bicycle in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 10, 2019. Picture taken January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Luc GnagoA worker at the handmade organic raw chocolate factory "Mon Choco", prepares to grind cocoa beans with the help of a bicycle in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 10, 2019. Picture taken January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Luc GnagoA worker holds bars of "Mon Choco", handmade organic raw chocolates made with cocoa beans ground with the help of a bicycle in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 10, 2019. Picture taken January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Luc GnagoDana Mroueh, owner of the handmade organic raw chocolate factory "Mon Choco", grinds cocoa beans with the help of a bicycle in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 10, 2019. Picture taken January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Luc GnagoDana Mroueh, owner of the handmade organic raw chocolate factory "Mon Choco", prepares to grind cocoa beans with the help of a bicycle in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 10, 2019. Picture taken January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Luc GnagoDana Mroueh, owner of the handmade organic raw chocolate factory "Mon Choco", grinds cocoa beans with the help of a bicycle in Abidjan, Ivory Coast January 10, 2019. Picture taken January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
