Axel Emmanuel Gbaou

Axel Emmanuel Gbaou, a cocoa ambassador and chocolatier based in Abidjan, joins Earth Live from Cote d'Ivoire for a conversation about chocolate, culture, and the economics of cocoa.

Despite Cote d'Ivoire producing roughly 40% of the world's cocoa, chocolate has traditionally been too expensive for most Ivorians to enjoy. Gbaou is working to change this, building a local chocolate culture that connects Ivorians to the product their country helps create. He discusses what it means to be a chocolatier in a cocoa-producing country, the skills and infrastructure needed to build a local chocolate industry, and the importance of value addition at origin.

The interview offers a perspective rarely heard in Western conversations about cocoa sustainability: the voice of someone building a chocolate culture from the ground up in the heart of cocoa country, determined to ensure that the people who grow the world's cocoa can also enjoy its finest product.