Las Marias Origin
It all started with an idea born of love. The founders wanted a project that reflected how beautiful Mother Nature is and the impact you can have if your actions are based on “love”. This principle is the basis of their core values. In Kampura, love means treating the land, the people, the community and the environment with kindness.
They ensure that the cacao meet this quality before leaving their facilities. That's why they've implemented their own quality labs to ensure consistency from year to year. Their plantations are recognized as the best in the region. They have been awarded by the National Forest Institute (INAB) as the best agroforestry plantation.
Las Marias has 800ha of land of which 238 hectares are organic cocoa. The Farm currently has practices that are both agroecological and conservation. The farm has reserve areas with forest incentives from the government. Biodiversity among cocoa specifically is scarce, with a basic agroforestry system combining Cacao, Rosul and Mahogany. The agroforestry management is of high quality, they assist the Cacao tree from its first stages in the nursery, field with training pruning and later with maintenance pruning. The amendments are with soil bioremediation, they reproduce and use mountain microorganisms, the cacao juice is used as a natural herbicide.
Meet Your Farmers
During the harvest they have a crew of 20 women from the surrounding communities, who are specialised in harvesting cacao. The task involves harvesting 150 fruit, opening each fruit, extracting the seeds, putting them in buckets, transferring them to the main path, and then finally emptying the buckets into clean bags that are later passed to a truck that collects the harvest. They are provided legal benefits and offered a minimum wage demanded by the Ministry of Labour of Q. 3,384.59. As added bonus, they provide them with transportation to and from their communities.
Las Marias is the only large 'finca' my supplier has chosen to work with. They believe their model can have a positive impact on the environment and local community.
Genetics: Selected Caribbean hybrids.
Flavour Profile: Toasted nuts with light woody notes an clear sparkles of sweetness.
Fermentation: Fermented for 9-11 days in big wooden boxes, with temperature control.
Type of Environment: Large scale plantation organised in diverse fruit forests growing cacao with cardamon, cinnamon, copal, palo blanco, banana, allspice, and more.
Region: Izabal.
Ownership: One main owner for a large plantation. Fair wages for workers and excellent working conditions.
200m
Altitude
140ha
Land Size
40
Workers