So where did we leave off? Ah yes … the prevalence of poverty for cacao farmers throughout history and including today. Which begs the question: What are we—the Endangered Species Chocolate Foundation—doing about it?

Welcome to Project Ecuador, our first program.

As you may know, cacao is a tree fruit that grows naturally near the equator. The geographic band encircling the globe that plays host to cacao farming has been dubbed the “band of poverty” given the prevalence deforestation, desertification and poverty there.

Project Ecuador supports the independent farming partners of the San Carlos Cooperative, which is seated in the “band of poverty” in Ecuador’s Orellana Region. To date, Project Ecuador has focused on funding best practices farm training to the Co-Op’s farmers—comprised of 1200 farm families or nearly 7000 people. The goal of Project Ecuador is to support the Cooperative in its effort to increase incomes for its partners.

Cacao farming is a volume game. The more cacao a farmer harvests to sell, the better off the farming family is and the more sustainable life becomes.

Enter the Sacha Tree, a naturally occurring hybrid cacao tree that originated on an independent farmer’s land in Ecuador’s Orellana Region. We humbly assert this tree is a miracle.

While a typical cacao tree produces 15 pods per growing season, the Sacha Tree produces over 100 pods. That’s a 733% increase in harvested pods. With such remarkable harvest potential, one can imagine how the Sacha Tree is quite literally changing lives for the better for the farmers who are planting it.

Beyond being more prolific than typical cacao trees, Sacha Trees are naturally disease and mold resistant. What’s more, they seem to produce pods year-around.

We are proud to support the efforts of San Carlos Cooperative, where farming the food of the gods—chocolate—will ultimately build more sustainable lives.

Every good wish, Wayne