Travel Côte d’Ivoire

15/01/2023

14/04/2021

With his new film camera, Zoumi took beautiful pictures of the Côte d'Ivoire landscape and captured lovely moments of the people. Check some of them out on our website!

Shortly before our pilot tour to Côte d’Ivoire (CI) in December 2019, I was inspired by a photographer named Gunner Stahl to purchase a 35mm film camera. He primarily does photoshoots for musical artists, and does so on film, which creates an effect that is hard to recreate on a digital camera. B...

02/04/2021

Today we are celebrating Autism Acceptance Day, Erika Marie Larimer has contributed insight to the difference between awareness and acceptance. "As we as a society continue to learn in all areas of diversity, one’s identity and the words we use to describe ourselves matter. For autistic people – as with anyone – acceptance is the goal."

Much more than simply being “aware.” As we as a society continue to learn in all areas of diversity, one’s identity and the words we use to describe ourselves matter. For autistic people – as with anyone – acceptance is the goal. You may hear April is Autism “Awareness” Month and “Li...

29/03/2021

Zoumi and his friend joined Alicia and Sekou in CI this week. Before he left for the plane, he wrote about his week of adventure. "Delicious street food, fresh coconuts, limitless hospitality, and penetrating sun-rays; this is just a peek into what Bryan and I have experienced and thoroughly enjoyed during our brief adventure in Côte d’Ivoire (CI)."

Delicious street food, fresh coconuts, limitless hospitality, and penetrating sun-rays; this is just a peek into what Bryan and I have experienced and thoroughly enjoyed during our brief adventure in Côte d’Ivoire (CI). Being the shortest amount of time, I’ve spent here in one visit, the time s...

26/03/2021

Alicia completes her travel journal series today with reflections from the last two months in Côte d'Ivoire to precede her homecoming journey this Monday. Check it out and consider registering for our December trip to Côte d'Ivoire for free if these journals have sparked curiosity.

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine?  (Where are Alicia’s feet this week?) Friday, March 26, 2021

24/03/2021

We have another travel journal entry from Alicia unexpectedly. She writes about the Ivorian women's experience and how our partner, WEL NGO, is using the money you donated to empower those women. The African Arts Creations fundraiser is still live and all the money goes directly to WEL and their work. Read more on our website to find out how to help.

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine?  (Where are Alicia’s feet this week?) Sunday, March 21, 2021 Sekou and I are having a relaxing Sunday at the beach in Bassam after a busy week working on our projects. As our time here gets short, we seem to try and cram more and more activiti

22/03/2021

Registration for our tour to Côte d'Ivoire this December through New years has been discounted until July 5th! Check our our Early bird pricing on our website.

Spend New Year’s with us in Côte d’Ivoire, Africa Take advantage of early-bird pricing for our New Year’s service trip to Côte d’Ivoire, we’re excited to see who’ll be joining us, December 27, 2021 – January 11, 2022!

19/03/2021

This is one of the last Entries that Alicia will be writing as her trip is almost complete! For the last week, Zoumi will be joining his parents in Côte d'Ivoire so expect to hear from him sometime very soon.

Also, we are releasing our Travel with Purpose 21-22 trailer on Monday! Get a sneak peak of the trip and the unforgettable experiences that all the participants had the opportunity to have

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine? (Where are Alicia’s feet this week?) Wednesday, March 17, 2021

12/03/2021

Last year we shared this Koné family favorite at our 2019 fundraiser. Since we cannot meet in person this year we are sharing it virtually. If you are interested in traveling abroad with us this year, sign up for free on our website!

This week we thought we’d share our recipe for West African Peanutpaste Soup since we could not do it in person like we did in 2019. We originally shared this recipe at our 2019 fundraiser for the Saint Genevieve Welcome Center , one of our partners in Côte d’Ivoire (CI). We will be spending a ...

10/03/2021

The 7th entry of Alicia's travel blog is here. She discusses housing and homelessness in CI.

"Today I’d like to share a little bit more about housing, home construction, and the impact on the issue of homelessness here."

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine? (Where are Alicia’s feet this week?) Tuesday, March 10th, 2021

09/03/2021

We are wishing everyone a happy International Women's Day. We would like to take this opportunity to highlight our partner, WEL NGO, for making a direct impact on the women in their community. Please consider donating to the African Art House fundraiser so they can continue to help empower women in Côte d'Ivoire.

https://koneconsulting.com/wel-african-arts-house

African Art House is a project initiated by NGO Women Entrepreneurs & Leaders (WEL) in partnership with Koné Consulting to empower low-income and vulnerable women in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) by giving them the opportunity to build a skill set to promote financial independence and success.

08/03/2021

To start off this week, we are sharing another entry from Alicia's travel journal. This one includes highlights from her trip to the Ehotile National Park.

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine? (Where are Alicia’s Feet this week?) Monday, March 1st, 2021 Greetings from my desk in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (CI). Today I can say I have been in Abidjan for a month now, and I have another month left to enjoy this beautiful country. Today begins th

05/03/2021

The 5th entry in Alicia's Côte d'Ivoire journal is here. Learn a little bit about the creatures and plant life in Jacqueville, a lakeside village.

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine? (Where are Alicia’s feet this week?) Friday, February 26, 2021 Oh boy, what I week we’ve had this week mostly traveling back and forth between our Abidjan apartment and the future site of our retirement home on Lac Labion in the subprefecture of Jacque

01/03/2021

The 4th entry from Alicia's travel journal is finally here. She shares her transportation troubles, featuring a tow truck in need of another tow truck.

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine? (Where are Alicia’s feet this week?) Monday, February 22, 2021

24/02/2021

This week we want to give you an update on our other partner in Côte d’Ivoire (CI): Sainte Genevieve Welcome Center in Katiola, CI. As some of you may remember, last year we held a fundraiser for the center and were able to donate goods during our inaugural tour.
https://koneconsulting.com/blog/2021/2/23/at35l5udrosm6qqidpbl9jhp4wev1r

This week we want to give you an update on our other partner in Côte d’Ivoire (CI): Sainte Genevieve Welcome Center in Katiola, CI. As some of you may remember, last year we held a fundraiser for the center and were able to donate goods during our inaugural tour. Within the past year, we have hel...

19/02/2021

"We’ve settled into our Airbnb apartment in the M’Badon district in Abidjan, a newer suburb that was a village not long ago. We are renting a newly constructed 3-story townhouse with a kitchen/living room on the first floor (called “ground” floor here) and a bedroom with en suite on the 1st and the 2nd floors." See what else Alicia had to say in her second CI journal entry below!

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine? (Where are Alicia’s feet this week?) Thursday, February 11, 2021 We’ve settled into our Airbnb apartment in the M’Badon district in Abidjan, a newer suburb that was a village not long ago. We are renting a newly constructed 3-story townhouse with a k...

17/02/2021

Greetings family, friends and colleagues. In my last note I mentioned for the months of February and March I’d be on sabbatical and then working remotely in Côte d’Ivoire (CI) where my husband Sekou grew up. We’ve been in Abidjan for a week now - our period of coronavirus quarantine is over.

Ou sont les pieds d’Alicia cette semaine? (Where are Alicia’s feet this week?) Tuesday, February 9, 2021 Greetings family, friends and colleagues. In my last note I mentioned for the months of February and March I’d be on sabbatical and then working remotely in Côte d’Ivoire (CI) where my h...

16/02/2021

Check in with us tomorrow! While Alicia is in Côte d'Ivoire, she will be keeping a journal. We will be sharing some of those entries on our blog. Also keep in mind that our masks are still for sale and they can be found at this link. https://lnkd.in/gWatk9M

Show you solidarity and support for health and safety measures with a victory mask from Koné Consulting. Each victory mask features:

28/01/2021

Come read Sanata's story and how WEL NGO is helping her be independent and succeed in her career.

Welcome to our second story in our series featuring young women who have been empowered by WEL NGO. We are happy to have them as partners as we work to solve the social problem of inequity in income and opportunities around the world. You can support WEL NGO and the women they empower by going to ou

22/01/2021

As you may have heard, we have been working closely with WEL NGO to help them continue to empower women in Côte d’Ivoire. Today is your chance to read about WEL NGO from the perspective of a woman who has completed their trainings and has moved on to be very successful!

You may have noticed how often we have been speaking about Women Entrepreneurs and Leaders (WEL) NGO lately and it is for good reason. Our partnership with WEL NGO is important to us because they are making real change in Côte d’Ivoire. Over the next three weeks, we will be sharing testimonials f...

14/10/2020

We are honored to work with WEL NGO, a woman-led organization on the forefront of empowering women and girls in Côte d'Ivoire.

This Sunday, October 11, 2020 is International Day of the Girl Child , a topic we are passionate about and on which we focus our Travel Côte d’Ivoire Service, Learning, and Leadership partnership efforts.

29/09/2020

28/09/2020

We support tourism and rural development - done well, tourism creates jobs, improves infrastructure/access to technology and elevates and empowers women and youth. Come travel with us!

This year’s theme for United Nations World Tourism Day - Tourism & Rural Development – resonates deeply with us at Koné Consulting, especially as we embark on planning for our December 2021/January 2022 Service, Learning, Lean-In tour to Côte d’Ivoire (CI), Africa.

18/09/2020

Reclaiming Wanderlust - Will travel be sweeter, our connections deeper, appreciation for experiences greater, as a result of being cooped as a result of the pandemic? I like to think so.

Like a bear emerging from hibernation, I’m ravenous to connect with others, savor a change in scenery, and devour new experiences. It’s what I like to think of as reclaiming wanderlust – a strong desire to make up for lost time and immerse myself in experiences which tantalize my senses and bring me closer to nature and humanity.

According to a recent Harris Poll**, the “the longer and more severe the impact of COVID, the greater the demand to get back to normal activities such as travel.” More than half of those polled plan to travel domestically and reconnect with family and friends. A third of respondents are eager to reschedule plans that had been derailed due to the pandemic.

Trending as a social media hashtag*, pandemic induced “revenge travel” is a term coined to describe the desire to make up for – or get back at – 2020’s global lockdown which grounded traveler’s plans, and is a trend anticipated to bring the air and travel industry roaring back with a vengeance.

Come Wander with Us
Here at Koné Consulting, we are positively anticipating a COVID-19 vaccine and setting our sights on our 2021 Travel Côte d’Ivoire tour. Our Service, Learning & Leadership experience offers a rich and impactful itinerary designed to give travelers insight to Ivoirian culture and customs – the country’s natural beauty, food, music, art, homes and hearts.

At Koné Consulting, we work every day to solve the social problem of inequity in income and opportunities. As we continue our commitment to service and excellence, we have expanded our reach to include opportunities which bridge cultures and build community, both in the U.S. and in Côte d’Ivoire...

12/06/2020

Alicia shows us how to make refreshing Bissap tea, a favorite beverage served frequently in Côte d'Ivoire.

Welcome! Today we're learning how to make Bissap, a West African tea made from hibiscus petals. Uncollapse to read full recipe. BISSAP RECIPE Ingredients: Wa...

09/06/2020

No Words Needed.

Traveling in a foreign country with little or no shared language can feel daunting at first, then hesitation slips away when a special connection is made, and one discovers our shared universal language – love and appreciation for one another’s humanity.

Christina: One of my favorite moments on the trip was when we went to Mass (the priest who oversees the Welcome Center - child and family reunification and education mission) we’re working with officiated (is that the correct term?) the service). Anyway, we were all seated and I had an open chair next to me. About 10 minutes in, a tiny girl – barely old enough to talk – came over and sat next to me. I had my arm up on the arm of my chair and she (shyly) put her hand on my arm. I turned my hand over and she began holding my hand. She would look at me and every time I looked at her she would look back down, so I would look away again and this continued for the rest of the service.

After the service was over and we were milling about outside, her father came and got her (she was still holding my hand). I bid them farewell, and we boarded the bus. We were heading to the local village to be greeted in traditional African fashion. Our group was seated in front of everyone and the chief made an announcement, welcomed us and offered us homemade wine served in gourds. Much to my happy surprise, this little girl found me again and came right over to sit on my lap. She continued sticking right by my side holding my hand until we had to leave.

I didn’t know, but Erika was taking photos of these goings on at the time and I am so thankful to have these pictures to look back on.

I’ll never know what the little girl was thinking or what drew her to me, but she will always hold a special place in my heart.

04/06/2020

As we mourn the deaths

of Black Americans

killed by police

We demand justice

and condemn

all forms

of racist violence

Living while Black

should not equate

to a life of fear

oppression

brutality and

micro-aggression

We will not quit

striving to

abolish systems which

perpetuate discrimination and

prejudice against people

Fundamental change is imperative

We choose equity

and investment in

health

education

housing

OPPORTUNITY

Life is not a privilege

Life is a right

“I am not racist”

is not enough

We choose reparation

We choose freedom

--

The above is a statement of solidarity from our parent company, Koné Consulting.

We are proud to work with so many local, county, state and national organizations whose goal is to end inequity of income and opportunities.

The system isn’t broken. It was built that way. We aim to change the system.

Together.

28/05/2020

21/04/2020

More masks from our Victory Mask collection plus images from our grassroots workshop! Masks are just $10 (incl. tax & shipping!) with 20% going to our charities in CI whose missions are to empower women and protect children through education, entrepreneurship and family reunification. Get yours at www.koneconsulting.com/international/store

-19

17/04/2020

Tips on how to size your victory mask before purchasing