One of the most special parts of directly sourcing cacao from the farm is the personal connection and visiting the farm. We spent a week at Finca El Porvenir in the mountains of the Polonchic Valley in Guatemala. This is where our Alta Verapaz cacao comes from. Named after the region. Beronica Chiyal is the Mayan woman who oversees the cacao production and quality control, la maestra de cacao. Together with Laurent, her husband who is a permaculture/agroforestry specialist, they run the farm together and created an impressive ecosystem that goes beyond organic farming principals.
Beronica is a real cacao warrior. She learned working with cacao and the dynamics of growing food from her grandmother (abuela) from a young age. She now applies all this knowledge to create a beautiful product and care for the thriving farm. Giving to the land from love and being grateful to what the land gives back.
Being at the farm together gives us a glimpse of how life at the farm is. With all the different plants, animals, harvests, workers and weather conditions there is always something going on. You can really feel the love and attention that is put into the work and the happy vibe with everyone working there. It’s just really nice and healthy being here. The cacao forest provides many different fruits, spices and clean drinking water from a mountain spring.
Ah and did we already mention that the electricity at the farm is generated by a hydro turbine? 🤯 So what is not done by hand (like the final grinding of the cacao to make it dissolve better) is powered by water and gravity! Awesome and sustainable.
Spending more time together you notice how much knowledge there is of so many details. The farm is a complex ecosystem with many different elements working together. Where nature thrives in a lush green jungle and provides the best in a natural way.
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