Femmes de Viruga

Virunga is one of the most important and charismatic conservation sites in Africa and beyond. It is home to half of the last 800 mountain gorillas in the world, which are severely endangered due to  deforestation and a growing population practicing irresponsible agriculture.

In 2008, Original Beans implemented a conservation cacao project on the borders of Virunga. More than 15.000 cacao smallholders now produce organic certified cocoa in the region and, so far, more than 1 million trees have been planted, farm incomes have tripled, and on-farm deforestation rates have decreased.

However, migration of refugees into Northern Virunga continues and people encroach into the forest to grow annual, low-value crops on cleared forest. Transforming them into sustainable cacao farmers is a sound long-term conservation strategy to reduce slash-&-burn, and improve overall regional stability and economy. Original Beans is member of a regional REDD consortium together with WWF, ZSL, and WCS. The conservation cacao strategy required for the upcoming years is not only about developing 1000 hectares of shade-grown, certified cacao. It is about working towards a cacao conservation culture where sustainable land-use, conservation values, and supply chain incentives produce measurable rainforest protection. Implementation is in partnership with a local extension NGO, IDAD (Initiative de Developpement pour l’Agroforesterie Durable).