The indigenous Kichwa live deep in Ecuador’s Amazonian rainforest, a region whose particular climate and geology conditions are ideal for growing cacao, especially the rare Cacao Nacional variety, prized for its floral, fruity, black peppery flavor. But for years, the beans fetched meager prices —about 20 cents a pound —as the Kichwa sold their harvest […]

A Kichwa rainforest cooperative of 850 families with small farms in the Ecuadorian Amazon. An average family has a small plot (2% of total farm size) planted with cacao trees, part of their farm with other crops, and more than half of their land remains as rainforest reserves. Kallari has received international acclaim as the […]