Building Inclusive and Empowered Cocoa Communities

As part of the implementation of the Mondelēz International Cocoa Life program, Solidaridad supported cocoa-growing communities in Ghana’s Eastern Region. The knowledge product, Building Inclusive and Empowered Cocoa Communities, documents Solidaridad’s community work as it successfully implemented the first phase of the project (2018-2024) in Ghana.

During the project, Solidaridad employed approaches which promoted inclusivity, and designed and implemented social and economic development projects to improve cocoa productivity, farmer livelihoods, youth participation, gender equality and child protection, to help communities reach their development goals. This included the Community Driven Development approach and the establishment of Community Development Committees and Village Savings and Loans Associations.

The report distills key lessons gleaned from the experience, while providing a comprehensive overview of the methodologies and approaches that were used to achieve the desired results during the implementation of the community projects.

Funded by Mondelēz International since 2012, Cocoa Life has promoted improved agricultural practices and landscape management to cocoa-growing communities in order to achieve sustainable economic development.