Germs and Cocoa

In September 2017, I supported Interpeace and Indigo Côte d'Ivoire in producing a mapping of the social dynamics affecting the city of Abidjan, home to more than 8 million people in Ivory Coast.

After the civil war, social cohesion in Abidjan remains challenging. On every street, (known by locals as "microbes" or germs) fight for the control of the territory and businesses.

Social initiatives in Abidjan carry heavy political implications. With the arrival of the multi-party system, politicians across the country began making use of their community and ethnic identities to build their support base. 

Today, community initiatives are scrutinised not only in terms of the material gains they provide, but also in terms of "who is behind it?": which leader is behind the initiative and which community do they belong to? How has that leader (and by extension, that community) treated us in the past?