On April 12, in the Tiwanacu room at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the six cocoa samples were awarded, out of a total of 24 samples, that will represent Bolivia in the International Cocoa Awards 2021 tournament. Among these samples is that of Wilfredo Gonzales, from the community of Tomachi, in Guanay, La Paz, and member of the Chocolecos association. The other winning samples are from Riberalta and Baures, in Beni, Yuracaré, in Cochabamba, Manuripi, in Pando, and San Carlos, in Santa Cruz.
WCS collaborated in the event "Salón de Cacao y Chocolate Bolivia 2021", organized by the Ministry of Rural Development and Lands, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Coordination Committee of Cocoa in Bolivia, by adapting a protocol for the organoleptic qualification of the samples, the preparation of the samples at the facilities of the company Origen SRL, and the support of two tasters who were part of the qualification panel.
We congratulate our partners of the Asociación de Productores de Cacao Nativo Ecológico del Pueblo Leco de Larecaja (Chocolecos) because once again they have demonstrated their ability to produce high quality cocoa beans. Cocoa production involves 55 producers from 15 communities of the Chocolecos Association, with a total cultivation area of 48.18 ha of native cocoa under agroforestry systems. The application of a set of technological innovations throughout the production chain: shade management, phytosanitary pruning, controlled fermentation in wooden boxes, and controlled drying on tables, makes it possible to produce excellent cocoa while conserving the forests and wildlife. These activities are carried out within the framework of the project "Wildlife-friendly agroforestry and sustainable forest management in Bolivian indigenous territories", funded by the UK Government through the “Darwin Initiative”.