Created in 2012, this project’s goals are:

• Diversify and increase farmers’ revenue
• Increase biodiversity and mitigate climate change
• Preservation of heritage and cultural methods
• Social cohesion and organization

This project, initiated by the chocolate maker Chocolats Halba and locally conducted with the APROSACAO cooperative and the local NGO Helvetas, aims at developing a high-quality fair and organic (organic farming, agroforestry) cocoa production in Honduras.

OBCECTIVES

The aim is to develop a high-quality fair (fair trade, protection and empowerment of people) and ecofriendly (organic) cocoa pipeline for Halba, helping farmers to develop agroforestry or silvopastoral models for their livestock.

Main guidelines of the project are the agroforestry plantations (fruit trees, woods and cocoa) on 150 hectares in partnership with 150 farm families; technical support and training of the producers by Helvetas; the creation of a collective (cooperative type) to manage the fermentation, drying and marketing of cocoa; support process improvement cocoa processing, especially drying and fermentation.

Man benefits are:

• extended crop areas without deforestation and increased volume of cocoa production;
• short-term profits due to the diversification of sources of income (sale of fruit), reforestation and continuous improvement of the lives of cocoa farmers (to facilitate the introduction of cocoa);
• continuous improvement of quality and quality control of construction.