few degrees north of the equator, a farmer
field school is teaching the arts of pruning,
mulching, pest management, biodiversity,
proper child labor practices, and everything
else required to make each of the students’
seven acres of land fully sustainable. Soon
these farmers will teach others in surrounding
regions, and the cycle of responsible and
educated cacao agronomy will grow, thanks
to the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and
one of their biggest supporters, Hershey’s.
Jim Lampman, founder of Lake Champlain
Chocolates of Lake Champlain, Vermont, is
taking in the scene.
Known as a “melter” because he works
with processed chocolate, Lampman and
others in his category are putting their
dollars into the WCF. Though many melters
sell Fair Trade–certified bars, joining forces
with the WCF is about taking the extra step.
“We buy chocolate out of Belgium and France
but still feel it’s our job to ask if the people
responsible for harvesting are properly cared
for,” says Timothy Moley, owner of Boulder,
Colorado–based Chocolove, which backs
the WCF to ensure that children in cacaofarming regions can access proper schooling
systems. According to Moley, the WCF has
projects across the globe tailored to address
specific troubles farmers face, such as insect
“It’s our job to ask if the
people responsible for
harvesting are properly
cared for,” says Timothy
Moley, owner of Boulder,
Colorado–based Chocolove.
infestations and the need for greenhouses.
The goal for the WCF and its backers is to
create a global network of support.
Dagoba Organic Chocolate of Ashland,
Oregon, not only works closely with the
WCF but also signed an agreement with the
International Finance Corporation to make
low-interest loans available to the co-op in
the Dominican Republic that supplies the
cacao for its Conacado bar. Thanks to parent
company Hershey’s, Dagoba also created
a nursery in Costa Rica to house 240,000
young trees that will be used to reforest
damaged areas and improve existing
farms. And Dagoba works directly with its
suppliers to lobby against governments like
that of the Ivory Coast, which imposes a 50
percent tax on all cocoa growers’ output.
Kuapa Kokoo, currently Ghana’s largest
cooperative (45,000 members), reversed
the traditional farmer-to-supplier model
when it founded Divine Chocolate, the
first farmer-owned chocolate company in
the world. In 1993, with outside funding,
a group of farmers (mostly women) set up
the co-op, which now owns 45 percent of
UK-based Divine Chocolate and 33 percent
of its newly established US counterpart,
both of which are Fair Trade–certified.
Taking control of their beans from source
to production empowered the farmers
financially and democratically; together,
they make decisions about everything from
package designs to the most productive
farming methods to use.
As tastes elevate and research continues
to confirm the health benefits of chocolate,
more consumers will likely pay premium
prices for bars with an ethical edge. In
turn, these high-price business models can
proliferate—but only for as long as they need
to. If more chocolate manufacturers invested
in their farmers’ lives, education, and, of
course, crops, artisanal and ethical chocolates
wouldn’t be so costly. Dagoba founder
Frederick Schilling likens the need for a more
farmer-centric production model to an old
Chinese proverb: “Give a person a fish, you
feed them for a day,” he says. “Teach them
how to fish and you feed them for life.” ✤
Lake Champlain’s Dark Chocolate Squares
Bittersweet
Symphony
To navigate the
vast artisanalchocolate firmament, we enlisted
the taste buds of
chocolate expert
Dina Cheney,
whose job is the
kind made in heaven. Here, the
author of The Tasting Club
describes some of the bars and
bites she likes best.
Dagoba Chai
Bits of crystallized ginger add
texture to this sweet, spiced milk
chocolate. If you love chai tea,
you’ll relish this flavorful bar.
Divine Milk Chocolate
Imagine caramel pudding crossed
with a milk chocolate bar, and
you’ll get a good sense of this rich
and creamy treat.
Endangered Species White
Chocolate with Macadamia Nuts
Small nutty bits lend crunch and
a toasted flavor to this milky,
smooth, vanilla-scented white
chocolate.
Lake Champlain Select
Origin Dark Chocolate Squares
It’s impossible to pick a favorite
among the four impressive
chocolates in this sampler.
Tanzania boasts red fruit and
wine notes; Sao Thome features
a perfumed, floral aroma;
Grenada calls to mind spiced
nuts and coconut; and African
Blend tastes of caramel.
Alice Dark Chocolate
With a balanced coffee-toffee
flavor and a silky texture,
the 68%-cacao chocolate from this Swiss
import doesn’t
disappoint.
Dagoba founder Frederick Schilling sampling
the cacao harvest in Costa Rica.
plentymag.com |
49