CHOCOLERO

Chocolero encourages Latin American farmers to abandon illegal coca plantations to grow something which is at once nourishing and a source of peace: cocoa.

Our Story

Many of us are addicted to chocolate and, coincidentally, cacao is a drug with many benefits. Unfortunately experts predict a shortage of chocolate in the medium term, which is surprising when you take into account that today 140,000 hectares of land are taken up by the growth of coca bushes, whose leaves contain the main ingredient of cocaine. This situation is a fantastic opportunity for cacao to replace coca, as it is able to survive perfectly in the tropical climate of the Amazonian slopes of the Andes mountains. This is our mission: to turn every "cocalero" (coca farmer in Peru or Colombia) into a "chocolero" growing cacao. As a citizen-led enterprise, we want to assist the official alternative development programmes, using the three following tools.

Fair trade: guarantee a decent income for farmers who opt to grow cacao.
Microcredit: lend them the necessary funds to convert their fields.
Philanthropy: help associations who treat and prevent addiction.

It is through the sale of organic chocolate that we are able to keep our promises. Each bar sold will protect 1m² of cacao-producing land for a season, at the expense of growing coca.