Esmeraldas, Ecuador
The Chocó Bioregion extends from Esmeraldas province in the northwest of Ecuador along the pacific coast of Colombia to Panama’s Darién gap. It is one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots and, in Ecuador, is one of the areas with the highest rate of deforestation, driven mostly by the palm oil and cacao agroindustries. The area of focus for this project is the last remaining coastal Chocó rainforest in the country.
Terra Genesis’ history with cacao producers in Esmeraldas dates back a decade, and is the context in which we co-developed the world’s first regenerative cacao supply system. This project is comprised of three important dimensions.
- A partnership with 400 farmers of the Unión de Organizaciones de Productores de Cacao Arriba Esmeraldas (UOPROCAE) in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, to develop regenerative cacao production systems inspired by local communities’ traditional knowledge and culture and nested within diverse forested landscapes,
- The development of a buyer group composed of US-based superfood and chocolate companies keen to integrate regenerative cacao into their supply systems, and
- The development of a Regenerative Outcome Verification – ROV™ system that allows both growers and buyers to monitor and verify the positive environmental and social impacts of the cacao that is produced.
Building on traditional knowledge and the social technology of ”minga’’, Terra Genesis and local partner organization Fundacion Cusumbí developed a pilot program, introducing new on-farm approaches for regenerative agriculture practices like biofertilizers, integrated pest management, terracing and strategic land management for conservation and restoration. The combination of these new technologies and traditional practices helps the farmers grow cacao in a way that increases yields, improves soil, sequesters carbon, increases resilience to extreme weather events, and promotes the revitalization of biodiversity.
Following development of a proof of concept, on-the-ground partners were supported to scale the project by expanding the size of the test group practicing regenerative cacao production.
We, in collaboration with Regen Network, developed the ROV™ system for regenerative cacao that allows cacao buyers—and consumers—to know exactly what impacts the chocolate they are purchasing has on the production landscape, and the communities of cacao farmers living and working there. This system goes beyond traditional measures of sustainability and responsible land use.
The ROV™ assesses impact in real time by using on-the-ground data collection processes as well as geospatial and remote sensing technologies to verify regenerative outcomes, rather than solely certifying best practices. Data is then integrated into designs for refined practices of measuring and planning moving forward.
Across the lifecycle for a given product there can be serious implications for environmental and human health. As part of our bespoke process, Terra Genesis evaluates prospective partners’ physical geographical proximity to some of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, and assesses how their products and supply systems impact these precious regions.
This work began at The Galeria-San Francisco Landscape, which contains a significant percentage of UOPROCAE’s farmers, and has become one of the 1000 Landscapes for 1 Billion People initiative.
Growers
Grow your regenerative impact
Savvy growers understand that the converging crises of climate change, biodiversity collapse, and inequality will present serious negative implications for the future of their farm enterprises – unless robust regenerative agricultural systems are in place.
Farming can be reestablished as a profitable and desirable livelihood for generations to come. Transitioning to the regenerative paradigm requires long-term and mutually beneficial relationships with partners, investors, and markets that are ecologically and culturally appropriate.
Reach out to explore your systems unique regenerative potential
Integrate regenerative practices into every facet of your farming enterprise
Ensure community wellbeing agricultural resilience in the face of volatile markets and climate change.
Reap the rewards from the synergy between business viability and ecosystem vitality.
Increase potential to feed people and regenerate the earth, and rejuvenate rural farming communities.
Be a driver of regeneration for your industry and with consumers through regenerative production and responsible purchasing.
We support the development of your agricultural production system to ensure long-term productivity and profitability by building soils, revitalizing biodiversity, improving watershed health, and reinvigorating local economies and rural lifeways.
Together we will
Identify concepts and strategies for regeneration, sourced from local context, and built upon evolving baseline evaluation indicators of footprint including water, energy, and carbon.
Establish regenerative business models based on robust cropping concepts, implementation plans and management practices to support conservation, preservation, and protection of local resources.
Craft go-to-market strategies to connect you with buyers committed to sourcing regenerative products.
Engage with your community together to ensure that regenerative approaches are accessible for adoption by your network of growers.
Co-create a robust approach-to-design that allows you to monitor, evaluate, verify, and monetize the impacts of your regenerative production system through Regenerative Outcome Verification – ROV™.
