It’s back-to-school time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and this year, COPAK Sarl, Envirium Life Sciences’ local subsidiary, is supporting children as they return to school. It all starts with cocoa! Through the Puratos’ Cocoa Trace programme implemented by COPAK, the cooperative Le Jardin, which brings together cocoa farmers from the Rwenzori sector, has chosen to use part of its community premium to support education in the region.

Covering 2,400 km², the Rwenzori sector is at the heart of one of the DRC’s main cocoa-producing regions. Every school in the area was able to benefit from this support.

• 18,000 notebooks; • 3,000 children supported; • 17 schools around the Rwenzori sector.

100 new school desks were also made locally and distributed to schools where they were most needed.

Since 2023, COPAK has been working alongside its client Puratos and local partner cooperatives to help improve the incomes of 3,000 cocoa farmers and the daily lives of more than ten communities across the Rwenzori sector.

COPAK’s agronomists works closely with farmers to produce fine cocoa for the international market, helping them to improve yields and increase their incomes. Farmers can also deliver their cocoa straight after harvest, with COPAK taking care of the fermentation at one of its dedicated centres.

In addition to offering a higher purchase price, COPAK and Puratos provide several bonuses linked to fine cocoa exports and its transformation into chocolate. One of these bonuses has now been used to fund this initiative supporting local schoolchildren.