High in the foothills and low in the humid Amazonian plains of Bolivia, a transformation is taking place. Where trees are usually cleared for cattle farms and rice fields, cocoa trees are returning or preventing further clearing. This time not as monocultures, but as part of diverse, living forests.
This shift toward agroforestry in Bolivia is reshaping how cocoa is grown. It’s restoring forest cover, buffering farms against climate volatility, and helping families secure long-term incomes through both cacao and timber.
At the centre of this transformation are the farmers behind our Bolivian cacao. Farmers supported by Sicirec Bolivia, a sustainable forestry enterprise helping communities transition from extraction to regeneration.
Why Agroforestry Matters in Bolivia
Bolivia sits at the crossroads of the Andes and the Amazon, a region defined by biodiversity, but also by vulnerability. Droughts, fires, inconsistent rain, and rising temperatures have made farming unpredictable. For cocoa farmers, this isn’t abstract: it’s daily reality.
During our visit, farmers spoke openly about how quickly the seasons have changed.
Drought comes earlier. Heat lingers longer. Blossoms fall before fruit can form.
As one farmer and community leader, Serafín, explained during filming:
“Droughts have changed everything, and it has hit us very strongly.”
Traditional slash-and-burn cultivation offered speed but not resilience. Monocrop rice, bananas, and cattle ranching stripped away shade, weakened soil, and pushed out wildlife. With each cleared field, farmers earned short-term gains but lost long-term fertility.
Agroforestry offers a different logic: grow food and forest together.
Instead of treating trees as obstacles, they become the infrastructure of a farm, cooling the soil, holding moisture, supporting pollinators, preventing erosion, and feeding the land with organic matter. For cocoa, a naturally shade-loving tree, this old-new approach makes sense.
Cocoa, Timber & Transition: A New Model for Farmer Incomes
One of the most compelling reasons agroforestry in Bolivia is scaling is economic, not just environmental.
Through Sicirec’s model, farmers plant:
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short-term crops (fruit, vegetables)
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medium-term crops (cacao and coffee)
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long-term crops (high-value timber)
The system creates stacked timelines of income, reducing risk in a changing climate.
As Sicirec explains:
“Farmers have no retirement. With a 20-year investment plan, when you're 60, at 80 you'll have a retirement, the big prize.”
Timber species, such as Mara and Cedro, mature slowly but offer generational security. Cocoa produces sooner, providing annual harvests and market consistency. Fruit feeds families and diversifies sales.
This diversification doesn’t just buffer shocks, it shifts mindsets. As one farmer told us during filming, you don’t just farm cocoa, you re-build forest.
The Role of Sicirec Bolivia in Supporting the Transition
Agroforestry requires patience, knowledge, and specialised support. Our cacao partner Sicirec Bolivia provides all three.
According to Sicirec’s sustainable forestry program:
Their mission is to help farmers move from slash-and-burn monocropping toward diversified agroforestry plots that restore forest cover and generate dependable long-term income.
On the ground, this looks like:
- technical training
- seedling nurseries
- timber planning
- pruning workshops
- fermentation & drying guidance
- market access
- equipment support
For many farmers, the difference is tangible. Marta, one of the farmers we met, described how tree cover saved her crops during Bolivia’s droughts:
“Since we have forest trees, all my plantations survived. They helped hold humidity.”
In a world where extreme heat can wipe out a harvest overnight, humidity is protection.
From Rice Fields to Forests: Stories from the Farmers We Met
The transition to agroforestry isn’t theoretical, it’s visible in the landscapes farmers have transformed.
Javier’s Farm: Regenerating Land with Cocoa & Timber
Twelve years ago, Javier’s land was planted with rice. The soil degraded, yields dropped, and burning cycles pushed the forest further back. With Sicirec’s support, he began planting cocoa alongside bananas, fruit trees, and timber saplings.
He explained the motivation simply:
"Permanent trees will remain for our children and next generations."
Today, his farm is shaded, cooler, and alive. His children can walk through rows of young timber trees that will one day become part of their inheritance.
The Nursery at Sumaj Orcko: Seeds of Climate Resilience
In Palos Blancos, we visited Román’s nursery, a hub supplying grafted cocoa, citrus, and shade trees to farmers across the region. For over a decade, Román has been testing hybrid cocoa varieties for heat, drought, and disease tolerance.
As he told us:
“We’ve been studying each plant, how they react to cold, humidity, heat, sun rays.”
Each sapling is a strategy for adaptation. And for Román, this shift matters.
“In the past, for example, few people wanted to produce cocoa, they weren't interested. They only kept cattle, they deforested hills,” he told us.
“We want them to stop deforesting by encouraging them to grow more plants.”
The Tsimane & the Return of Native Criollo
North in Beni, the Tsimane Indigenous communities are reintroducing native Criollo cacao, once gathered wild from the forest. Now, they plant purposefully, combining cocoa with fruits and forest trees to restore habitat and food sources for wildlife.
As Melitón shared:
“By implementing this agroforestry system, we also try to restore what animals usually consumed. That's why we are planting,” he said.
“And some animals are returning, like parrots, monkeys, lowland pacas.”
The Tsimane are proudly restoring what was lost.
Agroforestry & Climate Adaptation in the Amazon-Andes Corridor
Agroforestry functions as a natural climate buffer. Shade trees cool cocoa crops, roots hold water, and biodiversity stabilises the system. Carbon stays in the ground and in the wood of long-lived timber species.
During severe heat in 2023, Marta’s cocoa survived thanks to canopy cover. Without shade, cocoa flowers abort, pods dry, and trees weaken, a trend increasingly seen across West Africa.
In Bolivia, agroforestry is a key part of climate resilience. A resilience that will be vital to cocoa farming in the coming years.
Why Agroforestry in Bolivia Matters for the Future of Cocoa
Globally, demand for ethically sourced cocoa is rising while climate stress tightens supply. But beyond markets and trends, the transition unfolding in Bolivia represents something more profound:
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Forests returning
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Indigenous crops revived
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Multi-generational assets planted
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Farmer autonomy strengthened
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Biodiversity protected
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Soil restored
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Wildlife returning
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Communities stabilising
It shows what cocoa farming could look like: a regenerative practice, rather than an extractive one.
The Cocoa Circle’s Role
Our sourcing partnership with Sicirec is part of this transformation. By buying Bolivian cocoa grown in agroforestry systems, we’re not just choosing better flavour, we’re supporting a model that leaves land healthier than before.
A Future that Thrives
In Bolivia, agroforestry is more than a farming system. It’s an act of stewardship, a way of caring for land, legacy, and community at the same time. As climate pressures mount, more farmers are proving that agriculture and forest don’t have to compete.
When grown in the right way, they can thrive together.
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