Every journey has a first step. Ours began in Comalcalco, Mexico—with the scent of cocoa in the air, the sound of cicadas in the trees, and a woman named Ana walking us through a living, breathing cacao forest.
This wasn’t just any farm. Run by third-generation cocoa grower and chocolate maker Ana Parizot-Wolter, Hacienda La Luz is a lush, storied estate that feels more like a sanctuary. It’s a place where the line between plantation and jungle blurs, and where cocoa is grown with the kind of care that comes from deep respect for the land. “Preserving a cacao plantation is a way to preserve a jungle,” Ana told us. And she meant it.
It was here, standing under the shade of ageing cocoa trees and surrounded by biodiversity humming with life, that we launched our very first sustainability micro‑project, a small but powerful way to support the farmers whose values reflect our own.
But what is a micro-project, really?
To us, it’s a hands-on collaboration with the people who know cocoa best. It’s a way to support smallholder farmers facing enormous challenges: ageing trees, erratic weather, limited resources, and often little access to technical support. These are farmer-led partnerships, designed to co-create practical, regenerative solutions—restoring resilience, improving productivity, and protecting ecosystems.
Ana’s vision for Hacienda La Luz made the mission of our first micro-project clear: to help revive a beloved but struggling section of her plantation and strengthen the ecosystem she’s spent her life protecting. Because sustainability doesn’t start in boardrooms. It starts in the soil, in the stories, and in relationships like this.
What’s their struggle?
Despite its rich biodiversity, Hacienda La Luz is under pressure. Tabasco has already lost 98% of its original jungle due to deforestation, cattle farming, and urban expansion. Ana is determined not to let her farm be next. But preserving a jungle-like cacao farm comes with its own set of challenges.
- Aging Trees, Weakened Ecosystem
Much of the plantation is aging. The trees that remained were old and less productive, yielding almost no viable cocoa beans during the harvesting period.
- Biodiversity at Risk
The “domesticated jungle” is home to local wildlife like iguanas and toucans. But, many of the farm’s original shade trees were reaching the end of their lifespan. Sparse replanting left the canopy thinner than before, offering less shelter for wildlife and less moisture retention for the soil.
Lower tree density also meant less shade—which was bad news for both cacao trees and the Forcipomyia midges that pollinate them. Fewer midges means less pollination and less cacao.
- Climate Pressures
In the summer of 2023, southeastern Mexico faced one of its worst droughts on record. Irregular rains and heat stress made farming uncertain. “The rains used to come in May. Now, we never know,” Ana says. This unpredictability affects planting schedules, tree health, and crop yield.
How are we supporting Ana?
At The Cocoa Circle, we believe supporting circular, regenerative cacao farming means taking action on the ground. So, we partnered with Ana to launch a plantation renovation project focused on restoring two key hectares of Hacienda La Luz.
We began with pruning (removing dead parts of the tree) and analysis of the farm. Right away, it was clear the tree density was far below a healthy threshold. Where there should be 1,100 cacao trees per hectare, some areas had fewer than 600. We also saw an uptick in pests like squirrels and diseases like black pod rot. With this data, we created a plan focused on two goals: improving the health and productivity of existing trees, and planting 500 new trees to replenish and revitalise the land.
How is it going?
So far, the impact has been clear. Ana describes a wave of change taking place since the micro‑project began. Reviving the trees through pruning, bioinputs, and biofertilizers not only improved their health—it also seemed to shift the energy of the land itself. Pests retreated, and animals began returning: monkeys, iguanas, even snakes that hadn’t been seen in years. Birds settled into the canopy. The land began to recover, and so did the cocoa. For the first time in a long while, they were able to harvest from these two hectares—something that wasn’t possible elsewhere on the plantation.
At its core, this micro‑project isn’t just about cultivating cacao, but about investing in long‑term environmental resilience. Watching the land respond feels good, and reminds us why conscious farming is at the heart of what we do.
→ Watch Ana at Hacienda La Luz share how this micro‑project took root—and the transformation it sparked. Now live in our short documentary!
