Sourcing Partners

Chinantla, Oaxaca, Mexico

The Chinantla mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico is home to over 4,000 species of plants and is recognised worldwide as a biodiversity hotspot. Renewing and regenerating the biodiversity of the land is vital for a resilient ecosystem and habitat for the natural flora and fauna. This region is home to ChocoSol's longest-running forest garden reforestation work and our most prized cacao: Jaguar! Also known as Theobroma bicolor, we have been supporting the growing of Jaguar cacao in the area for over 8 years. 

Theobroma bicolor is used as a stepping stone into the forest garden– serving as both shade and fruit providing tree. White cacao grows faster and taller than its red cacao cousin, providing shade cover for red cacao and other crops below.

ChocoSol has sponsored the planting of thousands of white cacao seedling.It can take up to 6 years before white cacao seedlings start bearing fruit, and so this investment encourages long-term dedication to forest garden stewardship. We've seen an extraordinary commitment by our farming partners in the Chinantla to continue this process. In addition the selling of white cacao and palm hearts has been used to fund the preservation of the natural habitat of jaguar and other animals. 

Lacandona Jungle, Chiapas, Mexico

ChocoSol has been working with a group of communities in the Lacandona Jungle of southern Chiapas, Mexico for over 10 years. One of our longest standing relationships, ChocoSol directly purchases cacao from 3 villages in the region. The cacao is first consolidated and tested for quality control by village elder, Don Flor, and his family. This community and family is also our home-base for many of our cacao fermentation experiments, such as  our guanabana-infused fermentation.

Cacao forest garden is often found on the outskirts of milpas: a precolonial agricultural system that utilises intercropping to grow maize, beans, and squash together, often with peppers and herbs or quelites (edible greens). The forest garden is full of cacao and higher-tiered trees like the Madre cacao and ceiba trees that provide nitrogen-fixing and shade for the soil and crops below. Forest garden intercrop systems create resilient diversified output– including high-value achiote (annatto), cinnamon, and vanilla vines–as well as fruit and crops for local consumption.

Zorzal, Dominican Republic

Nestled in the heart of the cacao rich Duarte province in the Dominican Republic is Öko-Caribe. With more than 50 years of combined experience in cacao, owners Adriano de Jesus Rodriguez and Gualberto Acebey Torrejon have fine-tuned their systems to ensure consistent, superior quality in their production. Öko Caribe maintains close relationships with its 165 farmers through technical training, in agronomic practices and organic certification. In addition, owners Adriano and Gualberto have personal relationships with all farmers, offering microfinance loans for cacao-related expenses, as well as personal loans for family emergencies or other community needs.

In 2014, ChocoSol began sourcing cacao beans from the Zorzal private reserve in the Dominican Republic. This cacao is grown on a 1,019 acre bird sanctuary and organic cacao demonstration farm in the northern mountain range of the Dominican Republic. A key species of birds that makes use of the sanctuary is the endangered Bicknell’s Thrush (Zorzal de Bicknell), a rare migratory songbird native to Quebec and Vermont. ChocoSol receives carbon credits for purchasing cacao from Zorzal, and we are proud to support the work being done by Zorzal to actively demonstrate a workable model for local communities to improve their farming practices in a way benefits both the communities and the ecosystems they inhabit.

Kallari Cacao, Ecuador

ChocoSol sources cacao from Kallari, a co-operative organisation made of and made for small-scale cacao Amazonian producers in Ecuador. The organisation spans 144 communities and over 2,800 families in the Tena, Archidona, Arosemena, Tola, and Napo provinces.

Kallari is dedicated to being 100% Kichwa owned and operated, preserving local and endemic cacao varieties, and the unique terroir of the regions. The production is selected from the best chakras (garden lots) in the area, and the organisation works with its members to ensure that the cocoa has been grown organically.

This cacao is part of organic cultivation parcels that go by the name of "Chacras" in the Kechwa community of Kallari. This chacra model mimics the growth patterns of the jungle. It is a multi-layered agroforestry system, and plants are grown in conjunction with one another. There are no monocrops, pesticides, or added fertilizers. Their process includes diversified polycultures of plants, including fruits, traditional medicines, fibres and flowers.