Together with Coop and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ, German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH), HALBA educates local cacao producers in Ecuador as agroforestry coaches. They, in turn, pass on their knowledge to other cacao farmers.
In Ecuador, monocultures are increasingly eliminating local high-grade cacao and reducing the fertility of the land. Smaller and qualitatively worse harvests are the result. The livelihood of cacao farmers is also threatened. This is where HALBA’s commitment to sustainability begins. With local trainings, the cacao farmers are taught the foundations of dynamic agroforestry in a practical manner. Dynamic agroforestry methods promote well-balanced mixed cultivation, thus improving ground fertility and harvest quality. This allows cacao farmers to improve their earnings over the long term.
The by-products of mixed cultivation, such as corn, beans and bananas, are used by the farmers themselves or sold at the local market. This allows them and their families to benefit from a higher income. HALBA then turns the high-quality cacao harvest into its Ecuadorian chocolate, which satisfies both Bio Suisse’s Bud criteria as well as the standards of Fairtrade Max Havelaar.