Her parents and grandparents were cocoa farmers. Like all the neighbours in the small village where they lived, not far from Gagnoa.
Mariam grew up playing in the cocoa plantation. But she only tasted chocolate a few years ago, as an adult. She still remembers her first chocolate. The brown bar melted in her mouth. It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.
It took a long time for chocolate to be produced in Cote d’Ivoire. It is still only produced in small quantities. But Mariam was proud to be part of the change.
She always knew her country depended on cocoa. Everyone in Cote d’Ivoire knew the importance of cocoa in people’s daily life. Cocoa farming put food on the table. The taxes paid by the cocoa farmers helped build schools, hospitals and roads. Cote d’Ivoire is the largest cocoa producer in the world.
Mariam’s family was always worried though. Sometimes the price for their cocoa went down. Sometimes they did not have enough money. The cocoa farmers did not get paid much.
The farmers only got about 6% of the final price of the chocolate. Most of the money was in the manufacturing.
One day she heard they were going to make chocolate in a town near them. Chocolate! She had to go and see it. So she did. And she got a job in the new chocolate factory. Mariam knew nothing about how to process the cocoa beans into chocolate. Her job was to wrap the chocolate in nice paper, that she tied with a colourful ribbon. Each piece of chocolate looked very special.
Mariam slowly learned other jobs inside the factory. She now knows how to make chocolate. She dreams that one day she will have her own factory. And one day… she will.
Vocabulary
| Bar of chocolate | rectangular piece of chocolate |
| To grow up | to get older |
| To taste | to get the flavor of food |
| To wrap | to put paper round something |
| Taxes | money you pay to the government |
Questions
- Where did Mariam use to eat cocoa?
- Why is cocoa important?
- Who is the largest chocolate producer in the world?
- What is your favorite chocolate flavor?