Organic
Chocolate
The
organic cacao (cocoa, chocolate beans) produced by the Pueblo Montubio
communities in Ecuador is now being exported to a chain of fair trade
stores in Italy. Led by CRACYP, 26 village associations of
organic
cacao producers in 5 provinces are in the process of setting up a new
fair trade consortium. Their fine cacao is of high quality,
organically-produced and the new consortium is working towards fair
trade certification. All of the "chocolate forests" of our
producers are well established, traditional plantations of
mature cacao trees and they don't only produce the best chocolate, they
also support a wide variety of biodiversity.
The
communities recently started to export organic cocoa beans.
For now, their fair trade buyer processes the beans in a
chocolate factory in Italy to produce chocolate bars, a chocolate
spread and other products that they distribute in their 250 fair trade
stores under the brand name "Ciocador". CRACYP has
facilitated access to the technology to produce cacao paste (known as
"cocoa mass" or "chocolate liquor" in the industry). CRACYP
has also provided
training and transfer of appropriate technology for organic farming,
quality control system, exportation and international marketing.
In the future, the consortium will export the cacao paste or
chocolate liquor, chocolate bars and other products and a chocolate
cream liqueur to the same buyer in Italy. There are
opportunities for fair
trade interns to help on this project.
This organic cacao lends its
taste to Ecuador's most collaborative product. CRACYP,
together with
groups of farmers, has developed an organic chocolate cream liqueur,
with some fair trade ingredients and others in the process of fair
trade certification. The bottle is presented in a
box made of wood from cultivated forests, sustainably managed
by rural communities. In total, 68 Ecuadorian communities are
involved in the production of each bottle - producers of organic cacao,
cream (in transition to organic status), organic sugar, organic
alchohol (from CADO)
and sustainably-produced wood from indigenous communities.
The chocolate crisis:
Ecuador's mature, traditional plantations of fine cacao or
chocolate trees produce some of the best chocolate in the world, but
the yield is much lower than with newer varieties. Even
though the newer varieties don't have anything like the taste of the
fine traditional cacao, the market price for the two is no different.
So, there is no financial incentive to save these traditional
cacao forests with their irreplaceable genetic value and environmental
riches. According to SOS Cacao (in Spanish), in fewer
than 20
years, the world could lose one of its finest and favourite treats
completely. For this reason, CRACYP wants to extend this
scheme of collaboration and conservation for fair trade with the aim of
saving this part of the Pueblo Montubio's heritage.
The
Pueblo Montubio (Montubio people)
are one of three ethnic groups
recognised in Ecuador's constitution, and they are found all along the
Ecuadorian coast and in the subtropical parts of the western cordillera
(foothills) of the Ecuadorian Andes. Carlos Cabrera, CRACYP's
Executive Secretary, is a consultant in sustainable development for the
Pueblo Montubio.
Currently
the consortium has cocoa beans and cacao paste (cocoa mass, chocolate
liquor) with
organic certification for sale at fair trade prices.
Enquiries to
cacao("at")progresoverde.org.
Ecuador produces some of the
best chocolate in the world, or at least some of the finest cacao,
chocolate's raw material. Due to its fine aroma and high
quality, Ecuadorian cacao is particularly suitable for making dark
chocolate or vegan chocolate, where there are no milk products to hide
its rich taste. However, there's very little processing
capacity in Ecuador, so most of the cacao beans (also known as cocoa
beans) are exported as raw material to be processed in a chocolate
factory overseas. This missed chance to add value within
Ecuador is something CRACYP is working to remedy, and the new consorcio
should soon have its own chocolate factory in Ecuador to create more
employment locally.
CRACYP
- Sustainable Rural Development &
Reforestation in Ecuador
Community organic chocolate farming group,
exporting a high quality cocoa bean and organic chocolate liquor at
fair trade chocolate prices. The fair trade organic cacao
beans and paste are suitable for
fine chocolate products such dark or vegan chocolate.
