Unfortunately, in some countries where cocoa beans are grown, there is still poverty, underdevelopment and abuses such as child labor and slavery. Fons Maex, the founder of Kim's Chocolates, saw this firsthand when he first visited cocoa plantations in Tanzania in 2010. There, he was deeply marked by the living conditions of local farmers, overcrowded schools, lack of books and the total absence of school infrastructure. With education being the key to lifting people out of poverty, Kim's Chocolates decided to help the local population by building classrooms.
The chocolate maker founded the non-profit organization CocoaforSchools and got to work ... The project focuses on community development in 141 villages in southern Tanzania. Kim's Chocolates started by building new schools and improving the dilapidated infrastructure in a few villages. The principle is simple: Kim's Chocolates finances the projects and the villages themselves ensure the effective construction of the schools. And with results: since 2016, 1,397 classrooms have already been renovated or built from scratch thanks to the support of CocoaforSchools. By 2025, Kim's Chocolates hopes to have completed no less than 2,108 classrooms for secondary and primary schools!
