About half of the Bolivian territory is covered by tropical lands where its cacao grows. The aim of the country is not mass production but the maintenance of the product’s high quality.
Over the past five years, Bolivia’s chocolate producers have been quietly racking up the achievements and gaining global recognition for the quality of Bolivian cacao.
They are now part of the 20 best cacaos in the world and these products have increased in value on the global market.
Role of Indigenous Communities
Indigenous peoples play a key role in Bolivia’s chocolate industry. Many of the local farmers and producers who make up large cacao farming cooperatives like the Confederation of Bolivian producers and Collectors of Ecological Cacao (COPRACAO) and El Ceibo are from indigenous communities. Not only do these cooperatives strengthen national recognition of indigenous famers but they also encourage a shift towards a more modern way of doing business and selling their products.
Cacao in Bolivian Moxos Plains
40% of the cacao harvest in Bolivia is wild, which means that the trees are born and grow without human intervention: a step ahead of organic or ecological agriculture.
Wild cacao in Bolivia has smaller fruits and generates a lower yield compared to hybrid cacao, which is used in mass production. Its aromatic characteristics give the result of a superior flavor. This cacao variety is called “Wild Beniano” from the Moxos plains.
The Wild Beniano, that grows endemically on the Moxos plains in the Bolivian Amazonas, was named after the river where it thrives.
The very small beans that weigh just about the half of usual cacao beans, account for the fruity and flowery aroma of the chocolate prepared from these beans. Because of their small size, they do not fit the industry norms and machines, but they are exceptionally tasty – small and delicious like wild strawberries.
The Moxos Plains, also known as the Llanos de Mojos and the Beni Savanna, have extensive remains of pre-Columbian agricultural societies scattered over most of Beni Department, Bolivia. The remains testify to a well-organized and numerous indigenous people. Many types of earthworks have been documented in the Llanos, including monumental mounds, raised fields for agriculture, natural and constructed forest islands, canals, causeways, ring ditches, and fish weirs.
The forest islands are called “chocolatals” (places where cacao grows) by the local population. Some 30 chocolatals dot the Beni river, ranging from 2 to 12 acres. Archaeological investigations in the Llanos have not been extensive and many questions remain about the cultures of the prehistoric inhabitants. However, evidence of people living in the Llanos dates back to 8000 BC.
The Llanos were heavily populated by indigenous people until the arrival of the Spanish in the late 17th century. Because of diseases and violence most people died or fled away and currently only very few people live in this region and in the rainy season cacao transport can take up to three weeks before it reaches the nearest big city (Santa Cruz).
Analysis reveals that the new cluster of Bolivian cacao found on the Béni River is new and there are no clones of this type in any international gene banks. An additional importance lies in Beniano being Witches Broom-tolerant, which is a disease and one of cacao’s mortal enemies.
Other high quality cacao is grown in the northern part of the La Paz department and the western part of the Beni department, in and nearby the Madidi and Pilon Lajas Biospheres.
Agroforestry in Bolivian Cacao Production
A long term study in Bolivia comparing different cacao production systems shows that in addition to enhancing biodiversity and farmers’ food security, agroforestry systems and organic management may also be more profitable than conventional management in young cacao plantations. The study was carried out by the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in cooperation with partners in Bolivia.
Agroforestry offers more income, food security and biodiversity. The return on labor across the years was roughly twice as high in the agroforestry systems compared to the monocultures. However, agroforestry systems were more labor intensive than monocultures due to the time required to manage the shade trees and the yields of cacao in Bolivia were about 40 % higher in the monocultures. This is due to the revenues derived from the sales of banana and plantains which economically compensate the lower cacao yields.
This is important because farmers’ adoption of more sustainable production systems such as agroforestry and organic farming will largely depend on their economic feasibility. In addition, agroforestry systems contribute to food security and nutrition of small-scale farmers due to self-consumption of by-crops such as oranges, peach palm, bananas or avocados.
Cacao in Sucre, The Chocolate Capital
Sucre is the Bolivian city with a vast history of chocolate production. While the Amazon rainforest has the ideal conditions for cacao growth, Sucre has the perfect ones for chocolate production: mild weather that remains relatively stable throughout the year.
During a period when air conditioners did not exist, the weather was crucial while processing an easily meltable product. That is how the chocolate production in Sucre started several centuries ago, when Potosí was a big market for this delicious product.
The people in Sucre, inevitably, fell in love with chocolate, and the production methods and recipes were improved continuously. Over time, chocolate became part of the city’s identity.
Nowadays, you can find a chocolate store in almost every corner of the city’s downtown. As a result, the city was nicknamed “The Chocolate Capital.” There is an endless variety of chocolates with Bolivian identity ingredients: from Amazonian nuts and coca leaves to quinoa and amaranth from the highlands. You can also find spicy chocolates with ají pepper from the valleys of the country and chocolate with salt from the Uyuni Salt Flats.
Sucre is also renown because of its packaging. Some chocolate boxes are handmade by Bolivian artisans from different regions of the country. For example, some packagings are wooden boxes with Jalka textiles on them, while others are made using banana tree barks. There is also a Chocolate Museum in Sucre, which belongs to “Para Ti,” one of the most well-known chocolate brands of the country.
The country’s dedication to sustainable practices and the production of fine flavor cacao in Bolivia positions the country as an attractive origin for ethically sourced and distinct chocolates. As global consumers increasingly seek transparency and unique flavors, Bolivia’s cacao industry has the potential to thrive and make a significant impact.