L'arbre transplanté n'aura jamais une ombre aussi douce que celui qui a poussé sur place.
“A transplanted tree will never give shade as sweet as the one that grew where it stood.”
Nothing fully replaces one's original home or roots, even when replanted somewhere better.
— Ivorian Oral Tradition, Côte d'Ivoire
Source: proverbes-francais.fr, "Les meilleurs proverbes de la Côte d'Ivoire" — attributed as a Baoulé proverb, cited 1980
More Proverbs from Côte d'Ivoire
One hand alone cannot tie up a bundle.
Cooperation accomplishes what no individual can manage alone — a call to community solidarity and shared effort over solitary struggle.
The river that forgets its source will one day run dry.
A person or people who lose respect for their origins, elders, and traditions eventually lose their own strength and identity.
With patience, even a stone becomes soft enough to cook.
Persistence and calm endurance can soften the hardest problems over time — nothing is truly impossible for one who does not rush.
The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.
A widely shared West African saying warning that a community which neglects its young will eventually suffer the consequences of that neglect — belonging and care are protective, not optional.
Wisdom is like a baobab tree — no one person can wrap their arms around it alone.
No single individual holds all knowledge or truth; real understanding comes from gathering the insight of many people together.
A full belly and a hungry belly never understand each other.
Those who are comfortable rarely grasp the urgency felt by those who are suffering or in need.