As time passed, she told us, most of them have come to accept her leadership-and today, SCAFRA now counts both men and women among its membership.Īnother pervasive issue has been child labor. (“I’ve only been in contact with one other woman co-op leader,” Edi said.) The men in her community did not immediately accept the idea of a woman in power and she faced sometimes violent opposition from them over the years. Fighting child labor and sexism in cocoaīeing one of very few women cooperative leaders in Côte d’Ivoire comes with significant challenges. This group became the basis for the cocoa cooperative that Edi currently chairs, called SCAFRA (Société Coopérative Fraternité d’Adzopé). The women’s association, spanning seven villages, offers its members training support for however they decide to generate extra income. To address this gender disparity, she established an association of women cocoa farmers and wives of cocoa farmers who wanted to find ways to make their own living in between harvest seasons. “But what happens to them in case of divorce if the inheritance was entirely given to their brothers?” “Parents don’t think of giving land to their daughters because they assume they will get married and be taken care of by their husbands,” said Edi. And even when they gain membership, men often leave them out of decision-making processes. In Côte d’Ivoire, women cocoa farmers are often excluded from membership in cooperatives and other community structures. Increasing awareness-and incomes-on cocoa farms At that time, Edi (who is now 45 years old) was considering a future career as a secretary, but agriculture called her back in. In parallel with her days spent farming, Edi also managed to complete junior high school and computer training. Even so, she said, the purpose in the early days wasn’t just to make money it was to prove to her community that she could. While the other women in her community focused on growing subsistence crops-or, just what is needed to feed themselves and their families-Edi’s entrepreneurial eye quickly moved to crops she could sell, like cocoa, coffee, and teak. Through hard work and persistence, she restored the abandoned plot into lush growing space. This is her story.Īs the youngest child in her family, Edi had to convince her father to give her a small chunk of “wasteland” from his cocoa farm, which was all that remained after her siblings had inherited the arable land. Step in Kpomin Minrienne Kole Edi, a successful farmer and entrepreneur who has spent her life breaking barriers-from helping other women farmers in her community to advocating for global policy reform. Although Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest exporter of cocoa, the country has few women-owned cocoa farms.
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