Côte d'Ivoire: Olastique’s delicious solution to poverty

Introducing Olastique

Olastique lives in Soubré, the capital of the Nawa region in the southwest of Côte d'Ivoire.

The town of Soubré, home to just under 300,000 people, is the tenth most populous town in Côte d'Ivoire. It’s located along a bend of the Sassandra River and is surrounded by forests which are home to a variety of wildlife, including buffalo and elephants.

The region is an important producer of cocoa and coffee, so many of the residents are involved in farming. Some also earn their livelihoods by fishing on Lake Buyo.

Olastique describes herself as ‘a married tradeswoman’. She’s a member of a local church, where she took part in Tearfund’s Transforming Communities training (also known as CCT), and she tells us her story of how her situation has been transformed!

Attiéké is Olastique’s business

‘Prior to participating in the training about Transforming Communities and savings groups, I was working in the attiéké trade**. However, I wasn’t earning enough to meet my own needs or those of my family. It was really challenging to make ends meet!

‘However, after the Integral Mission* training, one of the things that I understood really clearly was that perseverance and a clear vision are essential for success, which motivated me to give my business my full attention.

‘When they introduced savings groups, I got involved and started saving money. This enabled me to expand my existing trade and also pursue an additional business venture.

‘Having accumulated some savings, I reinvested the funds into my business and set up a local rice distribution enterprise alongside the cassava couscous (attiéké) I was already selling. I started buying rice directly from producers to sell to customers.

‘This has given me a great sense of fulfilment because my business (which I’ve named Attiéké) has grown and my income has increased as a direct result.

‘I attribute this success to the training I received and the establishment of savings groups. I wish to express my gratitude [to those who provided the training] and encourage others to join savings groups.’

Why does Transforming Communities transform communities?

Côte d’Ivoire struggles with widespread, ongoing food insecurity, malnutrition and gender inequalities. Of the population of 25 million people, 46 per cent live below the poverty line, and the country is ranked 155th in the world on the Gender Inequality Index. This kind of Transforming Communities work empowers women like Olastique to improve their earning ability, helping them lift themselves out of poverty, and can also improve their confidence and standing in the community.

*What is Integral Mission?

Understanding that broken relationships between humans and God, between individuals and themselves and other humans, and between humans and creation, are at the root of all poverty – both spiritual and material – we work together toward being a part of God’s answer to this brokenness. Read more about how this works in practice and why it’s relevant here.

**What is attiéké? (How is it made?)

Attiéké is traditionally made by women and girls. There are many steps in the process, so it can take some days to complete.

First, the cassava root is peeled and grated. Then, it is mixed with a cassava that has already been fermented.

Once the mixture becomes a pulp, it’s pressed to remove the starch before what remains is processed (by hand), dried, steamed and separated into balls to be taken to market.

The dish is so culturally important to Ivorians, in fact, that earlier this year, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization registered a collective trademark which prevents cassava couscous produced and processed in other countries from being sold under the name attiéké. (Just like champagne can only be sold as champagne if it comes from the right region in France.)