| ICI Cocoa Initiative

Achiachen, a cocoa community in Ghana, benefits from drinkable water

15 October 2015

The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) 2015 report estimates that 663 million people in the world still lack improved drinking water sources including unprotected wells and springs and surface water. It further estimates that more than six million in Ghana’s rural areas and small towns do not have access to safe drinking water.

The International Cocoa Initiative welcomes two new members

21 September 2015

Guittard Chocolate and Tony’s Chocolonely are the latest additions to ICI’s family. Both companies operate by the principle of sustainable chocolate production, which includes a fair price for the

Despite signs of progress, much more needs to be done to protect children in West African cocoa

There are encouraging signs of progress in tackling child labour in cocoa growing but the problem remains vast, and more needs to be done to protect vulnerable children in cocoa-growing communities

Cote d’Ivoire: Compulsory education for ages 6 to 16

Schooling for children between 6 and 16 years of age is to become compulsory in Côte d’Ivoire, as the Ivorian government declared mid-July. This new rule will be applied with the start of the new

ICI training kit gets stamp of approval by national authorities

The government of Ghana has recently endorsed the International Cocoa Initiative’s comprehensive training and awareness raising materials aimed at the elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour

Shared vision - Voices from ICI board members

From the cocoa and chocolate industry to civil society representatives (including the newly-elected representative of the Ghanaian General Agricultural Workers Union), ICI’s members affirm that the organisation’s unique strength comes from the shared vision of ‘thriving cocoa-growing communities’ that all its members and partners uphold, communities ‘where children’s rights are respected and protected, and where child labour has been eliminated.’

ICI: Putting children and their education first

Working in 151 cocoa-growing communities over the past year, the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) reached 250,000 people in 2014, 100 000 of whom were children. As a direct result of ICI’s

New ICI logo: Welcome to our new world!

"We have a great, fresh new logo, and we love it. Both in the process by which we decided upon it, and in its visual depictions, it sums ICI up brilliantly." Nick Weatherill, ICI's Executive Director

Women in focus: The role of women in child protection in cocoa

ICI's national coordinator for Côte d'Ivoire, Euphrasie Aka, explains the crucial role of women when it comes to child protection in cocoa-growing

How to reach a 1,000,000 children: Time for team action

17 February 2015

The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) believes in putting the future of children at the heart of cocoa sustainability. United by the principle of