For many years, Congolese militia ADF was targeting cocoa fields to fund its fight. But after a joint operation between Congolese and Ugandan troops pushed ADF rebels out of a fertile area near Beni, cocoa again provides an alternative means of livelihood.
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00:00Dark chocolate from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
00:03It's a sweet treat that supports local livelihoods.
00:07Neema Avangisivavi is a manager at Virunga Origins,
00:11the DRC's first modern chocolate factory.
00:15We profit from our African resources and from what we grow.
00:21We add value to our crops by transforming them into finished products.
00:26All the profits stay in Africa and we reap the full benefits.
00:34The chocolate factory is located next to the dense Congolese rainforest
00:38at the foot of the Renzori mountains and on the border to Uganda.
00:43Farmers cultivate cocoa, the basis for chocolate, on this fertile land.
00:48But armed conflict in the region has made farming dangerous.
00:53Avangisivavi is involved in all stages of chocolate production and helps sort the cocoa beans.
01:01She's witnessed the instability caused by the insurgents firsthand.
01:06When she started working here three years ago,
01:09a local Islamist militia set up bays in the woods and terrorized nearby villages.
01:15It was horrific. Some villages were completely abandoned.
01:25More than half of the population were massacred.
01:30And the rest fled to neighboring towns.
01:36Cocoa is a blessing and a curse.
01:40The armed groups steal and sell the crop to fund their activities,
01:44killing farmers and forcing others to work for them.
01:47Germaine Mohissa was forced to abandon her plantation because she was afraid of being killed.
01:53Going to the field was really complicated, almost impossible.
01:59If you heard a noise, you'd be afraid it might be a rebel and run away.
02:04It was really unsafe. So we were barely making a living.
02:08Germaine Mohissa is happy she can farm cocoa again.
02:15Security has improved here since the Congolese and Ugandan armies joined forces to push back the militias.
02:23Cocoa brings so many benefits. I'm happy to be able to provide food and school fees for my children.
02:32All this is thanks to Cocoa. If my mother needs clothes, I'll buy them for her.
02:37And if she falls ill, I'll pay for her treatments.
02:43This is one of the few areas in Eastern DRC where the army has managed to regain control from insurgents.
02:50Viko Kondi is the manager at the Farmers' Cooperative.
02:54He says the improved security means more than just prosperity for the farmers.
02:59If we spread businesses like this throughout the area, young people will have jobs.
03:05Therefore, they will not join armed groups. But there are so many of them that don't have jobs.
03:11Avante Sivavi has learned to run the factory, which is now exporting to Europe and East African countries.
03:21But she wants to know even more about the secrets of developing chocolate.
03:26I am passionate about chocolate. And I'm committed to going very far in this profession.
03:34My vision is to become a world-renowned chocolatier, like the mentor who trained me.
03:41Neema, Avante Sivavi and other people in Mutuanga hope the peace holds so they can continue to cultivate cocoa and produce the chocolate.