Thank you for growing a tree!
Together we regenerate what we consume in the selva Zoque of Mexico
soccer fields of cacao forest are being preserved
seedlings HAVE BEEN grown in local nurseries
Farmer families received premium prices
of additional income for local partners have been generated
Your tree grows here
| Area: | Selva Zoque |
| The forest: | Community-owned rainforest the size of 1820 soccer fields |
| Rare wildlife: | Jaguars, spider monkeys, toucans, arboreal lizards, cave shrimp, tarantulas, crabs, bats |
| Original bean: | Wild hybrid of an ancient criollo cacao |
| Your growers: | 60 families in 5 Zoque and Tzotzil indiginous communities |
TIMELINE
Updated: October 2023
Autumn 2023
Even after discontinuing our Zoque 88% bar, we remain committed to this project, importing the beans and supplying them to various craft chocolate makers in Europe.
Summer 2023
The cacao forest established with our 2019 and 2020 nursery seedlings is thriving, ensuring income for smallholder farmers, protecting biodiversity, and promoting climate-positive cacao.
Spring 2023
To ensure the highest cacao quality, the fermentation and drying infrastructure has been renovated and expanded.
Winter 2022
Our local partner Agrofloresta organized a capacity-building programme with Mexico Organico SC on organic pest control in cacao.
Autumn 2022
The clonal garden at El Rocio farm safeguards 10 cacao genotypes, the result of an extensive search and selection program for ancestral cacao. This provides our growers with access to local, native cacao varieties known for exceptional flavor, high productivity, and adaptation to regional conditions.
Summer 2022
The 114,000 trees produced in Cerro Blanco village have been delivered to local smallholder farmers.
Spring 2022
The nursery in Cerro Blanco village was renovated to produce approximately 100,000 cacao, fruit, timber, and native forest tree species for local smallholder farmers.
Visit the complete timeline of this project
ONE BAR : ONE TREE > GO SEE
The pristine rainforests of the Selva Zoque are increasingly being converted into pasture land. The biodiversity losses are immense. Local indigenous families are getting ever poorer.
To counter the trend, we have raised the local cacao price and actively converted pasture land on the rainforest frontier to traditional home-gardens. Here, Tabasqueño cacao is planted together with 40 different crop and tree species, and wildlife can roam.
ALL THIS IS POSSIBLE THANKS TO YOUR PURCHASE!
PARTNERS IN SELVA ZOQUE
zoque 88%
Tropical aromas of lychee and coconut in this select tribal Tabasqueño cacao have lifted the spirits of local Zoque and Tzotzil tribes for 4,000 years in Mexico’s largest rainforest, the Selva Zoque.