Malekula Island, Vanuatu is pure paradise, with the only predator being coconut crabs, but as the name suggests and much to our relief, they don’t go after the cocoa pods. In the 1920s cocoa entered the island and through many changes of management and funding and Malekula is now back up and running as a thriving cocoa producing island. And for this, we must champion and support the fine cocoa that grows on the island.
Mindanao Island, in The Philippines is the southernmost main island in the Philippines group, just inside the “Goldilocks zone” 10 degrees either side of the equator. It is Firetree’s only cocoa origin North of the Equator. The cocoa we buy directly from our farmer grows on the slopes between Mount Apo and Davao city in the fertile tropical rainforest-like conditions.
Papua New Guinea - Our farmers are the Goodyear and Middleton families, based on the gentle, fertile slopes of the volcano. They are both some of the main employers on the island, with farm hands having been there for generations and whole families choosing to work there due to the fair conditions.
Farmers:
Philippines - As commercial cocoa is relatively recent in the Philippines, it is still made up of multi-crop small holders where they grow cocoa alongside a whole host of crops, mainly for the local market – think pineapple, coconut, and yams. There are more cooperatives in the Philipps as each farmer doesn’t produce enough beans to build a fermentary.
Makira
Meet the farmer: Not only does Lucy, our farmer own the land herself, but she also exclusively hires women to help produce the cocoa, too. Due to the money she raises with selling super-quality cocoa directly to us, her two daughters have been able to go to university in Australia, aspiring to come back to the farm to take over the family business due to them seeing how sustainable and rewarding cocoa production can be.
Papua New Guinea
Our farmers are the Goodyear and Middleton families, based on the gentle, fertile slopes of the volcano. They are both some of the main employers on the island, with farm hands having been there for generations and whole families choosing to work there due to the fair conditions.
