It is unfortunate how a rapid pace economy can sometimes destroy local communities and erase their cultural and ecological heritage. We believe in balance and sustainability and that is why we were so proud to be able to train local farmers in diverse agroforestry systems in a cacao grove that has been converted from a cattle pasture in 2014 into a booming diverse cacao forest.

Under a Madre of Cacao tree (Mother of Cacao), a small and leguminous tree that has been used as a shade tree for times immemorial, we talk to them about the benefits and positive environment effects that a grove like this can have. “Cacao Forests” like this one, work as buffer zones between urban or rural areas and the rainforest. They act as corridors for wildlife to move freely and serve as carbon storage, soil enrichers, watershed protectors, rainfall generators and, if done efficiently, they can supply their caretakers with a great deal of food and income resources.

Modern times often disillusion villagers and made them abandon their traditions and we are trying to help them revive them. We are honored that Zoque and Tzotzil families open their houses and share with us what they have. The success we’ve had so far is entirely to their credit and hard work, they are truly the ancestral guardians of the Zoque Rainforest.

Since 2014 the project, thanks to the support of local communities, has been able to work on the following:

• Establish a direct-trade supply chain with cacao farmers from indigenous populations in the area.
• Organic certification of the land.
• Train farmers in organic cacao farming and forest-friendly practices.
• Preserve 1,200 hectares of rainforest through conservation agreements.
• Convert pasture land into diverse agroforestry systems.
• Cultivate Tabasco’s Cacao and forest trees in 7 village-held nurseries.

We have been doing this always with the goal of putting the farmers first and that is why our cacao is at all times a fair-trade deal to the farmers and their families.