Colombia: cocoa, a reconstruction tool for victims of conflict
Audio 19:30
Colombian cocoa.
© Najet Benrabaa / RFI
By: Najet Benrabaa Follow
25 mins
In Colombia, cocoa has become a tool of reconstruction for the victims of the armed conflict.
Thanks to the ethical and social network of a Frenchman, indigenous peoples and victims of the armed conflict are reconverted into cocoa producers.
Colombian cocoa does not represent more than 4% of the world market, but its quality attracts the best chocolate makers in the world, and in particular the French.
Our correspondent in Colombia, Najet Benrabaa, went to meet these producers.
(Replay)
Publicity
From our correspondent in Colombia,
They are part of the Indian peoples of Colombia, are Afro-Colombians or farmers in zones of armed conflict.
All were victims of turf wars, and had to abandon their native lands to rebuild their lives elsewhere.
Cocoa production was an escape route.
At the beginning of May 2021, when the country has been the scene of clashes and social protests for several days, Franck Berger, roaster, pastry chef and chocolate maker, came from Bourgoin-Jallieu in Isère to
meet these producers
.
Some are already its suppliers, others aspire to become one.
With another Frenchman, Grégory Le Heurt, they traveled through three regions in ten days to meet the indigenous Embera peoples of Mutata, the Afro-Colombians of Tumaco and the farmers of Meta.
Thanks to its ethical and social channel La Finca Brava Sas, Grégory Le Heurt exports so-called “premium” cocoa, that is to say of high quality, to France.
“
The prices of cocoa on the market are set by the New York or London stock exchanges. They don't take into consideration the producers' difficulties or their stories. Even cocoa said to be ethical, fair-trade, despite better remuneration, does not do so. Most of the producers, with whom I work, lack the means, the know-how. But, they have all the conditions to produce excellent quality cocoa
.
My role is therefore to support them and negotiate the best prices for them.
"
In Mutata, near the town of Apartado, in northwest Colombia, the Embera Indians live in Paramillo National Park in villages made of wooden houses on stilts. Some got help from NGOs and were able to build brick houses. These people have been driven from their ancestral territory by armed groups such as the FARC and the paramilitaries.
For Angelino Bailirin Bailirin, an Embera cocoa producer, the arrival of the French represents the hope of a better life. This father works a field of more than a thousand cocoa trees. “
We moved here in 1998 to escape the violence. The armed groups had killed Embera. I started cocoa three years ago to earn some money. I used to be a breeder. It wasn't enough. It's still hard because for the moment, I am buying my cocoa at 1.50 euros per kilo. If I can sell it for 2.50 euros to the French, it would change my life.
"
In the Meta, in the south of the country, the French meet Carlos Poblito Jhonson Guzman, 54 years old. This former coca leaf producer explains his conversion to cocoa and the control of
the region's former FARC guerrillas
. He tells about his years of threats and his two forced displacements since 1985, before settling in Granada in the finca "la libertad-la liberté".
“
I have four hectares of cocoa trees and I produce twelve tons of cocoa per year. Before, for six years, I made coca leaf. But it no longer paid. And the armed groups were trying to recruit me. It was getting dangerous. I have never been interested in this life. So I fled in 1985 when I was 17 from the Tolima region and then again, in 1987, from the city of Lejanias. I met my wife and we've been making cocoa for 16 years. Now, I would like to export my cocoa for a better price because despite my big harvests, I almost only cover my production costs.
"
The roaster-chocolate maker Franck Berger, who visits him, sells 13,000 chocolate bars per year and employs nine people.
Last year (2020) he bought five tons of Colombian cocoa while he has a list of 24 suppliers around the world.
“
I decided to highlight Colombian cocoa.
You should know that the cocoa bean originates from Colombia.
Its quality is exceptional, very fine.
This is what companies like mine are looking for.
If I can help the producers by buying cocoa, it is even better.
“
For 2021, his order has already been made.
It will be Colombian cocoa again.
Program originally aired on June 3, 2021.
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