Each edition of the NY Chocolate Show brings new faces.
I found the story of Kallari, a cooperative of Kichwa cacao growers from the Amazonian part of Ecuador heartening.
I arranged for an interview with Roxanna who during a monthlong visit to the US was an ambassador of sort for Kallari. Judy Logback who helps spread the word on Kallari in the USA acted as translator.
Here's what I harvested.
Q: Roxanna, to start with what does the word Kallari means?
In the indigenous language of our tribe, Kichwa, Kallari means 'new beginning'.
Q: Is Kichwa community small?
Actually, we are one of the largest in the Amazon with 100.000 people, some in the Amazon, others in the Highlands with quite a few differences between the 2 groups including in their language.
Q: How deep are cocoa farming roots?
It goes back many generations. Cocoa was considered the golden bean.
Q: When was Kallari founded?
The co-op was started in 1997
Q: What is Kallari membership like?
It includes all generations and 22 communities from 3 areas listed below:
-Near the Arajuno and Puni Rivers, which are directly South of the Napo River
-Around the Anzu and Jatun Yaku River watersheds, which is a little South and slighly West of Tena – and includes some villages and organizations near Tena.
-The area downriver from Zone 1, which is the Huambuno, lower Arajuno and Napo River watersheds. This is near the town of Ahuano and as far as the Campococha community.
Q: What varieties are used?
Some varieties planted were originally found in our area but were then replanted on the coast and brought back to the Amazon region. Special characteristics and flavors depend on varieties.The Cacao Nacional de Arriba bean, which is what Kallari has the highest concentration of, is esteemed for the floral/fruity component that has jasmine aroma and passion fruit notes. The other varietals have unique notes that compliment this, like the earthy, rich chocolate notes of the Criollo bean, the acidic fruity flavor of Trinitario, and the nutty tones of the Blonde Cacao beans. Wild varietals from the Napo area are also common, which have genetic similarity to the Porcelana beans of Venezuela and the yet un-named varietals of the Peruvian Amazon.
Q: Do you offer single appellation chocolates?
We do not as beans come from small plots were cacao grows alongside medicine plants and garden staples. A microbatch is 1000 kilos so we have to blend cocoa from various growers to reach that mark.
Q: Can you elaborate on the Kichwa garden concept?
The Kichwa home garden is called a "chakra", which exhibits a small planting area (1 acre) very broad diversity of species used, and distant planting schemes from individuals of the same species. A Kallari cacao "chakra" will have about 1/3-1/2 as many plants as a typical cacao plantation.
The chakra technique is more labor-intensive, but helps avoid any attacks from pests (making organic certification possible), and also guarantees a wide diversity of nutritional and cash crop options for the farm family.
The chakra spacing improves the flavor of cocoa beans, in part because the groves are nutrient-rich soils along flood plains of the Napo River tributaries. The soils not only have adequate availability of trace elements from the volcanic soils, the roots of cocoa trees have plenty of space and are not overlapping each other and competing for the same nutrients as in other monoculture groves.
Q: When did Kallari become widely available in the USA?
In the Fall of 2008. Our main distribution channel is Whole Foods.
Q: Besides the US, where are Kallari chocolates most popular?
Thanks to our Fair Trade and Organic approach, we are popular in Italy with the help of Slow Food and Scandinavia. Ecuador represents 20% of our sales.
Q: Can chocolate enthusiasts visit the growers?
So far tours are available for groups via a booking agent, many of them educational for example students from MIT have paid visits. March or April is the best time.
Best way to schedule a visit is to contact our general coordinator in Ecuador, Carlos Poso via e-mail at carlosposo [at] yahoo [dot] com.
Q: Do you have plans in the future to process some of the beans yourself?
We hope to have our own 'plant' in about 2 years.
Q: What are the benefits to the Kichwa community so far, financial and others
Kallari chocolate sales in the U.S. are not projected to turn a profit until late in 2011. With the additional income from each stage of export and processing, Kallari has been able to increase the price of cacao to the small farmers to over six times the price paid by intermediaries in 2001(from 25 cents per pound to $1.50 per pound). This allows the families to better provide for their basic family needs (health & nutrition).
In addition the cooperative has done their best to increase the capital used to purchase cacao from the individual farmers, before it is exported as cacao beans or dark chocolate bars. This is because with more families joining and more production each year (due to renovation of old groves, better care of the trees, sanitary pruning of infected trees and improved harvest techniques) so each year the cooperative needs more funds on-hand to guarantee they can purchase the harvest and prepare the beans/chocolate for each respective market. As payment may take months, the profits from improved cocoa prices have helped the cooperative increase this fund, but each year they take out harvest loans from various lenders so the families can have quick payment during the harvest months.
Kallari is in the process of creating several small community banks, so that in the future the farmers might be able to lend to each other. In 2011, we hope to have profits to set up a health insurance and retirement plan for Kallari members.
Thanks Roxanna and Judy for shining light on Kichwa people and Kallari.
I bet each bite of your chocolates will taste even better now.
(* Photo of Roxanna and Judy taken by Lauren Alder during presentation at Chocolopolis in Seattle, others courtesy of Alison Hynd)