BEFORE one can fully enjoy a sweet delightful treat of chocolates, one has to understand and appreciate the intricate process involved in chocolate-making.
The process of creating delicious chocolate bars, beverages, powders, and other chocolate treats begins with the cacao bean. Have you ever wondered where these beans come from?
Cacao Culture, a Davao-based chocolate brand that recently opened a chocolate delicacies shop, takes pride in its cacao farm run through sustainable farm practices.
In 2016, Kenneth Reyes-Lao, co-founder of Cacao Culture, began his journey as a seedling operator. As his passion for the business grew stronger, Kenneth got the idea of leasing a three-hectare farm in Barangay Gumalang, Calinan, Davao City, where he could plant cacao seeds. He is supported by his wife, chocolate maker Shiela Reyes-Lao, in this cacao journey.
"We planted our own seedlings, making them the source for what we have here. So, from the seeds to the planting, we handled it ourselves," Reyes-Lao shared.
Cacao Culture Farm began harvesting its cacao fruits in 2019, and ever since then, its chocolate production has been consistently fruitful. Today, the farm has approximately a total of 2,500 cacao trees available for harvesting.
Reyes-Lao also mentioned that the harvest on the farm isn't consistently sweet; at times, they encounter bitterness similar to unsweetened chocolate. They also face challenges in their farm operations, and they are not exempted from farm insect infestations.
“Yung insect problems, we try our best to manage the farm in a way na malinis, kasi pag may nabubulok, yung cacao pods kasi pag biniyak na natin matagal mag-decompose so minsan sa mga farm iiwan lang nila then doon na nag be-breed yung insects (When it comes to insect problems, we do our best to manage the farm in a clean manner because when there's something rotting, like cacao pods that take a long time to decompose after we open them, sometimes on other farms, they just leave them there, and that's where the insects start breeding),” Reyes-Lao said.
Orlando Samson, the farm manager at Cacao Culture, has forged a partnership with a Singapore-based agricultural startup known as WasteX.
WasteX is an innovative contraption designed to transform agricultural farm waste into organic fertilizer. This organic fertilizer is subsequently utilized to enrich the soil of their cacao trees, providing essential nutrients for their growth.
“Imbis na nakakalat lang ang agricultural waste, yung pods na nahiwa na nagiging habitat pa nang insect kasi yung agriculture waste nagpapalabas ng carbon, ((Instead of agricultural waste just being scattered around, the discarded pods become habitats for insects because agricultural waste emits carbon), it's bad for the environment, the goal of WasteX is to turn this waste into fertilizers,” Samson said.
While addressing insect issues on their farm, they are simultaneously mitigating their farm waste by recycling cacao pods into biochar. After extracting the beans from the pods, they incinerate the pods using WasteX.
Cacao Culture is also committed to promoting sustainability through the use of eco-friendly contraptions for recycling farm waste.
WasteX is a machine they utilize to burn cacao pods, turning them into biochar, which is then used as a soil amendment for cacao trees, serving as a natural fertilizer. Their approach on the farm is truly ingenious, as it is like hitting two birds with one stone.
“Yung nutrients nang pods nandoon pa rin, it is a dual purpose, yung naiwan na nutrients doon sa agricultural waste maibalik mo sa plant ulit, plus yung carbon emission niya nawala and then paglibing mo nung biochar, yung plants naman feeds on carbon, yung carbon naman good for the leaves of the cacao tree (The nutrients in the pods are still there; it serves a dual purpose. The nutrients left in the agricultural waste will be returned to the plants, and at the same time, its carbon emissions are reduced. When you put the biochar, the plants feed on the carbon, which is beneficial for the leaves of the cacao tree),” Samson added.
Once the pods are converted into biochar, Cacao Culture makes an effort to reintroduce them into the soil because the cacao pods still contain a significant amount of potassium, which is essential for the trees. You won't see piles of cacao pods lying around because Cacao Culture has already processed them and uses WasteX to transform them into biochar. Their sustainability initiative is deeply connected to the land, and it follows a systematic approach to managing the farm.
Cacao Culture is making a concerted effort to minimize the use of plastic on their farm. Instead of wrapping their cacao pods in plastic, they maintain a clean farm environment to prevent insect infestations. Right when you enter the Cacao Culture farm, you'll immediately notice the absence of plastic coverings on their cacao pods.
Cacao Culture, situated in the heart of Davao and strengthening its position as the cacao capital of the Philippines, is dedicated not only to crafting top-tier chocolate products but also to championing sustainability as the cornerstone of their business. AJA