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Bitter Chocolate Stories Bitter Chocolate Stories

Shedding light on child labour in the cacao industry

Bitter Chocolate Stories
Brief

We associate chocolate with celebration, comfort and romance. But do we ever associate it with the farmers – and often children – who literally make the product possible? More than two million child labourers work on cocoa plantations in Ghana and the Ivory Coast alone. Who are these children and why do they do this work?

Approach

BITTER Chocolate Stories sheds light on these questions. Combining portraits of 15 former child labourers and interviews with the children and other actors in the industry, the exhibition and publication provide an insight into the complexities of a product many of us take for granted.

In collaboration with Tony’s Chocolonely and Paradox, we conceptualized and designed the campaign, website, exhibition and publication to raise awareness about child labour in the cocoa industry. Everyone in the chocolate chain – cocoa farmers, chocolate companies, retailers, governments and consumers – has a responsibility to tackle child labour and informing a wide public of the problem is the first step to achieving that.

"I don't think a cocoa plantation is any place for a child."

Client:
Tony's Chocolonely
Year:
2017-2021
Concept:
Paradox
Photography:
Joana Choumali
Texts:
Marijn Heemskerk
Production:
Paradox
Awards:
Bronze Lamp, ADCN, 2018