Dominique Persoone is chocolate factory building in the Congo: Forty people work

Bruges Bruges topchocolatier Dominique Persoone open at the end of this year on its own chocolate factory in the virunga volcanoes in the Congo. In the national park wants Persoone the local people to have its own cocoa beans-editing to full-fledged chocolate. It is mainly the intention to create work and poverty go down. “I did not find such poverty is seen as there,” he says.

It is at the request of the Belgian prince Emmanuel de Merode that the chocolatier is a chocolate factory wants to build in Kivu in Eastern Congo. The Merode is the director of the national park, Virunga, is known for the protection of monkeys and gorillas. The park is often plundered by the local population because they continue to have nothing to survive. Pilot Anthony Caere, which, like the Persoone of Oostkerke comes, helps there the Merode to the local population the work by own factories to build and the park of poachers to save. As founder of the Merode already a soap factory and several enzymenfabrieken out of the ground.

“In Kivu, there are already cocoa farms, but the beans are not always of the best quality and are still just exported at very low prices,” says Persoone. “The intention with the chocolate factory is to get yourself chocolate so they have their own make a profit. Have they never finished the chocolate eaten. Usually it goes straight to the university to processing it all.” The full proceeds of the chocoladeverkoop goes to the local population and the virunga volcanoes.