Replanting Cocoa, One Tree at a Time

Planting after Loss  

Sometimes the future of cocoa depends on the simplest decision: whether to plant again after loss.

When climate extremes hit cocoa farms, the damage doesn’t always arrive all at once. It settles into the land. It might start with a few rows of young trees missing. Small patches left bare after flooding. But these impacts reflect years of care undone in a single season.

In Bolivia, this is a reality that many cocoa farmers are facing more often. Heavier rains, flooding, fires, and longer dry periods are reshaping what farming looks like, and how quickly things can be lost.

This is where our tree-planting microproject begins.

Starting Anew

Together with our Bolivian cacao partner, Sicirec, we’re supporting farmers to replant cacao trees in areas affected by climate-related damage, while also establishing new agroforestry plots, a form of farming where cocoa grows alongside fruit trees, timber species, and native forest plants. 

Sicirec is an organisation that has worked with smallholder farmers and Indigenous communities in Bolivia’s lowlands since 2006. They help farmers transition to agroforestry and create systems that protect both their livelihoods and ecosystems.

On the ground, that work starts simply. Farmers prepare the land, often replacing banana trees with cacao varieties known locally as “gringo cacao.” The soil is carefully lined, opened with specialised tools, and young cacao seedlings are placed by hand.

Each tree planted through this microproject represents more than a replacement. It’s a decision to stay with cocoa, even when climate conditions make that choice harder.

Why tree planting matters now

Cocoa is not a short-term crop. Trees take years to mature, which means when young plants are lost to flooding or fire, farmers lose future harvests long before they ever exist.

Without support to replant, those losses can push farmers toward other forms of land use, like cattle farming, that offer faster returns. But these returns are often short-lived, leaving behind depleted soils and disappeared forests.

We want to reduce that pressure by investing in cacao tree planting. Our microproject funding is directed specifically toward planting cacao trees that allow farmers to recover damaged plots, rebuild their farms, and continue working within agroforestry systems where cocoa grows alongside other trees and crops.

Some of the cacao seedlings supported through this project are already being used to replace trees lost during severe flooding earlier this year. Now, farmers get to restore what was lost rather than starting from zero.

Where the project is today

This is an ongoing project, and progress is happening in phases.

So far, 2,353 grafted cacao seedlings supported by The Cocoa Circle have been delivered to farmers working with Sicirec. Because the dry season is approaching, we focused on the areas most affected by recent flooding, where replanting was most urgent.

The remaining seedlings will be distributed with the return of the rains, currently planned for November, when conditions improve and young trees have a better chance of survival.

In total, this microproject aims to support the planting of up to 8,000 cacao trees in collaboration with Indigenous communities, including Tsimanes farmers. “Explain Tsimane”

Alongside tree planting, future stages of the project will also support essential tools and infrastructure. We’ll supply tools like fermentation boxes, drying tables, and pruning equipment, to ensure good-quality cocoa production over time.

Growing resilience, slowly

Tree planting doesn’t offer instant results. The impact of this work will only become fully visible years from now, as trees mature and farms stabilise. 

But this is exactly why we invest in microprojects like this one. Not as quick fixes, but as long-term commitments shaped around real needs on the ground.

By working closely with local partners and farming communities, we’re able to support cocoa systems that are designed to last even as climate conditions continue to change.

This project is still unfolding. We’ll continue to share updates as more trees are planted and the next phases take shape. For now, our work continues: one seedling, one plot, one farm at a time.