TRECC is an initiative designed to transform the education system in the Ivory Coast and provide a better life for children in cocoa communities. To read more about TRECC and all organisations involved in the initiative can be found here.
Aflatoun International works with TRECC to equip young Ivorians with stronger financial, entrepreneurial and life skills. The project is run in partnership with one of Aflatoun’s partners INADES Formation. The INADES Formation is a Pan African NGO created in 1975, which assists a network of associations across 10 countries, aims to create equitable and sustainable development for rural community actors in agriculture.
Aflatoun International, together with INADES Formation, introduce the youth to agricultural entrepreneurship in cocoa-growing communities and provide a specialised curriculum on helping them improve their economic and social livelihoods. Since the implementation of the project in 2018, youth participants learn how to be financially literate, such as learning how to save and budget and are encouraged to form savings groups and clubs. Additionally, Aflatoun and INADES Formation provide technical trainings and sessions on the importance of diversification of agriculture and are connected to local markets.
Today, 305 youth participants between the ages of 15-30 are receiving training in Life Skills and Financial Education. Currently, 39% of the youth who are enrolled in the programme are female. Additionally, the local community and a local cooperative (CASMA) are supporting the implementation of the programme. 10 savings clubs are running in 4 communities, with 2 of those clubs intending to use donated land of 100m2 for collective gardening projects. Moreover, these clubs encourage participants to plan and budget their savings to create small business ventures.
With the support of Jacobs Foundation, our partnership with INADES is preparing to scale up efforts from 2019 to 2020 to provide more training and education to young adults while expanding our reach to more cocoa-producing communities. If you want to find out more read here.
Benin’s story
Benin is 28 years old and lives in Kotoka, a village in the Maféré Region, South-East of Ivory Coast. He lives together with his wife, his one-year-old son, and mother. Since he joined the programme, he has improved his agriculture skills and is cultivating vegetables such as kale and tomato. Although he had a recent setback in cultivating crops, he is determined to continue to apply best practices through the programme’s training to make sure his crops succeed and can be sold on the local market.
The programme has changed and transformed Benin’s way of living. Through the programme, Benin learned how to budget and manage his expenses. He now leads 3 savings groups within his club and his village and manages beneficiaries’ savings. Additionally, he hopes to open a savings account from his monthly salary. He plans to open a clothing shop for his wife who sews clothes which can support their family long term. Moreover, the programme has broadened his view where he now sees many opportunities in Kotoka and does not have to go to the city to find other work. The programme has taught him not only valuable life skills but allows him to feel more empowered and become an agent of change in his own community.
For more information about INADES Formation, click here. To learn more about Aflatoun’s global social and financial education movement and how you can join us, click here.