For the past three years, Elucid and Max Felchlin AG have worked together to improve the lives of cocoa farmers and their families. Our partnership has focused on delivering better healthcare access and community support in cocoa-producing regions, ensuring that the people who grow and harvest this precious crop have the resources they need to thrive.

Through dedicated initiatives in Ghana, Venezuela and Ecuador we have made great progress in strengthening healthcare infrastructure, providing essential medical services, and supporting local medical professionals. Our journey together has been one of continuous learning and growth, enabling us to create a sustainable and lasting impact in these cocoa-growing regions.

Our Projects in Ghana, Venezuela and Ecuador

Cocoa farmers in Ecuador, Venezuela, and Ghana often face severe financial and geographical barriers to healthcare access. Many farming communities are located in remote regions where medical facilities, trained healthcare workers, and essential medicines are either scarce or difficult to access. Families in these communities often live below the poverty line in their countries (2.15USD per day), making it even more difficult for them to access healthcare due to the insurmountable financial barriers it poses.

To address these challenges, Elucid and Felchlin have initiated three projects focused on enhancing healthcare infrastructure and ensuring that cocoa communities receive the medical attention they need. Across our projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, we now reach over 6000 people, and the data insights that we collect from the projects are being leveraged by Felchlin to address systemic challenges, such as child labor and living income – enabling their sustainability efforts to tackle root causes instead of treating symptoms.

Supporting Healthcare Access in Ghana

Ghana is one of the world’s largest cocoa producers, yet many farmers and their families struggle to access healthcare services. To improve medical care in these communities, our partnership has supported initiatives that:

• Strengthen health care access by enrolling farmers into the national insurance scheme
• Ensure cocoa farmers and their families receive proper medical treatment when necessary, providing essential and emergency care not covered by the system.
• Educate communities on preventive healthcare measures to reduce the burden of common illnesses.

Through these efforts, we are helping ensure that the farmers who sustain the cocoa industry can also lead healthy and fulfilling lives.

Improving Medical Support in Venezuela

In Venezuela, access to basic healthcare services and medical resources remains a significant challenge, particularly for cocoa-farming families. Working together, Elucid and Felchlin have collaborated with local healthcare professionals and organizations to:

• Supply critical medications and healthcare essentials to cocoa-growing regions.
• Support local clinics and doctors, ensuring they have the resources needed to provide quality medical care.
• Facilitate health awareness and medical assistance programs directly benefiting cocoa farmers.

By reinforcing local healthcare systems, our aim is to ensure that cocoa-farming communities in Venezuela are healthier and more resilient.

Healthcare and Community Strengthening in Ecuador

Ecuador is known for its fine-flavor cocoa, yet many farmers in remote areas lack adequate access to healthcare, particularly due to the financial barriers imposed by their low-income – many of them live below the poverty line. Recognizing this challenge, our partnership has focused on:

• Providing health supplies and training to enhance local medical capacities.
• Supporting mobile healthcare initiatives that bring medical professionals directly to farming communities.
• Ensuring that cocoa farmers and their families can access essential healthcare services without financial hardship.

Our ongoing work in Ghana, Venezuela and Ecuador reflects the deep commitment of our joint partnership to the well-being of cocoa-producing communities. We believe that sustainable cocoa production depends not only on environmental responsibility but also on the health and prosperity of the people who cultivate it.

Three Years of Growth: Strengthening Our Commitment

Since 2021, our partnership has only gotten stronger. The successes of our programs have enabled us to expand the reach of our programs in our implementation countries. Not only this, but the data we collect and gather in our data portal offers us invaluable insights into how our programs are faring – and where improvements can be made. This way, we use the data insights to refine and improve our approach based on the needs of the cocoa farming communities we serve. Through trust, collaboration, and a shared sense of responsibility, we have built a strong foundation for lasting change.

Mareike Toulas, CFO of Felchlin, explains what she finds most valuable about the achievements of our partnership over the last three years:

“The impact of our health care program has been transformative. Families no longer have to choose between food and medicine. Children can attend school healthy, and we have more resilient communities. One of the most touching aspects is the empowerment of women. Improved health care has led to greater gender equality and economic stability. Our commitment to sustainability is a promise to continue supporting the well-being of those who make our work possible.”

A Future of Sustainable Impact

As we enter the next phase of our partnership, we remain dedicated to making a difference where it is needed most. We believe that ethical, sustainable cocoa production must put people first – prioritizing the health, dignity, and well-being of farmers and their families.

Here’s to three years of meaningful impact – and many more to come.