Costa Esmeraldas is a single estate cocoa farm owned by the Salazar family on the North West coast of Ecuador. The steep 100-hectare site is a former cattle ranch and is planted with Nacional-Venezolano Amarillo cocoa.
Oranges, limes, lemons, plantain, bananas, guayaba, and papaya are grown interspersed with the cocoa to reduce erosion on the steep terrain. Freddy Enrique Salazar explains, “We also grow fruit because it feeds everyone on the farm”. Management of the cocoa orchards creates over 40 full-time jobs in the local community of rural Esmeraldas.
The pods are transported daily during harvest, beans meticulously fermented and sun-dried at their brand new post-harvest facility close to the farm.
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