With World Chocolate Day coming on the 7th of July, Hotel Chocolat shares a deeper insight into its mission of making both people and nature, happy through chocolate.
The taste of chocolate can bring so much happiness however, the process of growing the cacao to create the chocolate can be damaging for nature and farmers. Low payments for cacao has put an increased pressure on farming methods – with farmers trying to still create a profit – incorrect farming methods has led to deforestation, poor soil quality, loss of biodiversity and a cycle of hardship for farming families. Hotel Chocolat believes in working with farmers to develop a better way to grow cacao, one that helps farmers and nature thrive.
As a cacao grower itself, Hotel Chocolat runs its own organic cacao farm in Saint Lucia – and has seen the cacao-growing challenges first-hand. The journey towards a better way for farming began 20 years ago, working with farmers and experts in both Ghana and Saint Lucia to develop what we call ‘gentle farming’.
The gentle farming initiatives include providing shade and high-yield cacao tree seedings, on-farm pruning support and labour as well as workshops on organic fertilisers use and why this is important.
Key Highlights Include:
- Shade tree seedlings: Hotel Chocolat supplies shade tree seedlings to farmers who are part of the gentle farming programme in Ghana. This improves productivity as cacao thrives in the shade of other trees. As well as benefiting the cacao, it is also better for nature. Planting a more diverse range of trees and plants leads to regenerative agriculture and increased biodiversity.
- Pruning: With any plant, cacao grows best when it has been carefully pruned. Removing unproductive branches, the tree can focus on producing high-quality pods. Hotel Chocolat supply 300 labourers in Ghana to support farmers with pruning and sharing the correct techniques. This helps improve crop yields, cacao quality as well as farmers’ productivity and income.
- Organic fertiliser: On Hotel Chocolat’s cacao farm in Saint Lucia, they have seen first- hand the benefits of using an organic fertiliser – helping the soil retain its moisture and nutrients, support healthy plant and tree growth, and are gentler on the environment. This knowledge is now shared with farmers in Ghana through dedicated workshops.
To further support this mission, Hotel Chocolat introduced the Better Way Bar in October 2023 — a chocolate bar that stands for more than great taste. Every bar sold helps fund our gentle farming initiatives – with 100% of Better Way Bar sales supporting the gentle farming initiatives, driving positive change for both nature and farming communities.
