We're building a factory! 

Over the last few weeks, the building site has gone from a huge expanse of red earth to a construction site with buildings. The first part of the cashew processing building now has a roof and we will be pouring the floor slab in the coming weeks. We expect to be able to start installing the cashew equipment in October. The construction work for the day care centre and the canteen is almost complete and the administration building is expected to be finished by the end of October.

Last but not least, we are currently planning a pilot project for a composting plant to use mango and cashew shells efficiently, which is being supported by a new financing partner. The aim is to enable family farmers to use the compost for their fields.

The foundations for the social block are almost finished and the walls for the canteen and the day care centre are already in place. The foundations for the cashew processing building are still being laid and the construction company is already assembling the steel structures.

The rainy season is just around the corner - the first stress test for the groundwork! We hope that the rain will not cause any other delays, because the cashew processing equipment has already arrived and we are ready to start cracking the first raw cashews as soon as the buildings are finished.

Workers are currently digging the foundations for the office buildings, canteen and daycare centre on site. In addition, the prefabricated building elements for mango processing have arrived in our storage location. The machines for cashew processing have also arrived in Bobo-Dioulassou and are awaiting customs clearance.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the factory is held on 2 February 2024 to mark the beginning of construction on the first buildings.

The site is mostly ready for construction. The boundary wall around the property is nearly complete and the site has been terraced. The steel structures for the buildings in which our cashews will later be processed have also been delivered. If everything goes according to plan, we'll be able to start processing the first batch of nuts in autumn 2024.

Due to factors such as the unstable political situation, it's taken much longer than anticipated to obtain planning permission for our project. We finally receive confirmation from the relevant authorities at the end of November 2023. This is a major milestone for the project!

We begin construction on the boundary wall surrounding the site. Once completed, it will be decorated with works by local artists.

Eight months after the last government was overthrown, another military coup takes place in October 2022. The head of state, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, is removed from office. The country is now led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré. On 30 September 2022, coup plotters blockade the capital Ouagadougou, restricting access to the presidential palace and completely sealing off the country. The coup pushes back our building project considerably. There are further delays, as outstanding permits and ongoing procedures relating to the construction cannot move forward for the time being.

In anticipation of the construction starting soon, we are planning the first work on the plot. Before construction can begin, the top layers of earth have to be removed, stones crushed and bushes and trees removed.Any trees that don't necessarily need to be removed will remain where they are. Once this is done, we can begin terracing the site. In parallel, the team in Burkina Faso negotiates with suppliers for the machines that will later be used to process the mangos and cashews.

Our team visits various ministries and authorities in Burkina Faso to present our project to the national cashew authority and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Minister of the Environment, Energy and Water, Dr Maminata Traore, is particularly interested in our commitment to the employment of women and organic farming.

The Belgian development bank BIO Invest and the Belgian Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFI) agree to provide €6 million in financing for the construction of our new factory. After extensive preliminary discussions, we receive a commitment for their support. The coup in Burkina Faso has hindered the audit process and the site visit of the people in charge. Now the financing of our project has finally been secured.

On 24 January 2021, the military announced that it had deposed Roch Kaboré, the President of Burkina Faso. The constitution is suspended, while the temporary closure of the country's borders and the imposition of night-time curfews take effect.

The coup causes some concern among our financing partners. The political situation makes investing in the country even riskier than before. Administrative processes are delayed due to a lack of clarity regarding responsibilities within the government.

Nevertheless, we press ahead with the plans for our new factory. We have found both a local contractor and a technical project manager.

We purchase about 11 hectares of land near Bobo Dioulasso and begin planning the construction work. Because the site isn't completely flat, we first have to terrace it. The plan is to build two or three large warehouses for production and infrastructure with a total area of more than 12'000 square metres. In addition to the warehouse for the cashews and mangos, the plan includes a building for processing. There will also be office space, an in-house laundry, a canteen and childcare facilities for employees.

€960'569 pledged by 2'082 supporters: We have raised an impressive sum with our Walls Against Walls crowdfunding campaign. Although we didn't quite reach our target of €1 million, we still consider the crowdfunding campaign a great success.

Our Walls Against Walls crowdfunding campaign starts in early 2021. The goal is to raise €1 million for the construction of a new, larger factory in Burkina Faso. The project involves over 30 international artists, each of whom will donate a work of art to the project. Some of these works will be created especially for our project. Supporters of the project can choose a print of one of the pieces as a thank you for their donation. Once completed, the wall around the factory site will be decorated by local artists from Burkina Faso. This will give the local artist community a platform, and the walls of the factory will carry their message out into the world.