From Cocoa Monoculture to Monoculture of Thought

Decolonial Ecopoetics and Resistance in Chocolaté, le goût amer de la culture du cacao by Samy Manga

Abstract

This article aims to show how the Cameroonian writer Samy Manga, in Chocolaté, le goût amer de la culture du cacao, depicts the systematic degradation of the natural environment caused by cocoa monoculture. By adopting an approach that combines ecopoetics and ecocriticism within a postcolonial perspective, he reveals the presence of a monoculture – both agricultural and cultural – that homogenizes the land and the human spirit. Ecopoetic resistance thus emerges as a path toward emancipation : it restores to places their spiritual and sacred dimension while decolonizing Western hegemonic narratives. This resistance manifests itself through a hybrid form of writing that advocates for both ecological and epistemic diversity. The creation of new poetic forms becomes a means of asserting biodiversity, rethinking and transforming humanity’s relationship with itself and with nature, and contributing to greater awareness of the contemporary socio-ecological crisis.