Hints of morello cherries, earthy chocolate and black tea are revealed as the rare Cru Virunga melts in your mouth. The depth of a rare Amelonado cacao embodies the last mountain gorillas that inhabit Virunga National Park.
One Bar : One Tree
Each purchase of earthy Virunga 70% supports our farmers to rebuild sustainable livelihoods around Africa’s oldest park, Virunga.
Virunga is one of the most beautiful and naturally richest regions in the world. And yet it has eroded into one of the poorest. To learn about Virunga, we suggest you watch the Oscar nominated documentary of the same name on Netflix, or at least its trailer here. Produced by Orlando von Einsiedel and Leonardo DiCaprio, the movie tells the breathtaking story of Africa’s oldest nature park, its unique geological riches and how this region is being exploited by outsiders at the expense of local people. It shows how the struggle to defend the beauty of nature and the world’s last mountain gorillas clashes with our lifestyle choices and demand for fossil fuels.
What the movie doesn’t show are solutions. Purchasing Cru Virunga and Femmes de Virunga chocolate is indeed one of the best solutions and helps local families directly.
Since cacao originates from South America, African cacaos were imported there and are mostly referred to as Forasteros (“strangers”). We prefer the terms that refer back to the South American roots, in this case Amelonado cacao from the upper Amazon.
An independent 2012 study about Original Beans partnership effort in Virunga concluded that 13,000 farmers in the region had been guided and trained for certified cacao production. Their income had doubled from $500 to over $1000 per year (sic!). Most people involved had been educated about HIV/Aids and tuberculosis. The study calculated that 3 million trees had been planted and deforestation rates had halved since the beginning of the Virunga cacao project. In the meantime, Cru Virunga 70% had become a multi-awarded chocolate and was served by leading chefs and patissiers.
This work is ongoing, as more farmers join, more trees get planted, and the local farmer support organization we finance, called IDAD, deepens these impacts.
Want to follow the impact of this project? One bar : One tree : Go see!
Erick Racine Lolwako, lead agronomist at IDAD
Hints of morello cherries, earthy chocolate and black tea are revealed as the rare Cru Virunga melts in your mouth. The depth of a rare Amelonado cacao embodies the last mountain gorillas that inhabit Virunga National Park.
One Bar : One Tree
Each purchase of earthy Virunga 70% supports our farmers to rebuild sustainable livelihoods around Africa’s oldest park, Virunga.
Ingredients: cacao mass*, raw cane sugar*, cacao butter* (cacao 70% minimum)(*certified organic)
Virunga 70% ORGANIC DARK CHOCOLATE NUTRITION FACTS Per 100g Energy: 2401 kJ / 573 kcal Fat: 43g Thereof Saturated fat: 26g Carbohydrate: 45g Thereof Sugars: 29g Dietary Fibre: 11g Protein: 7g Salt: 0,03g Iron: 12mg
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