Lutheran World Relief is proud to participate in the 2023 Cocoa and Chocolate Salon (Salón del Cacao y Chocolate) in Lima, Peru to advance collaboration in the cocoa and chocolate industries. Building on our long history of innovation and partnership with farmers, cooperatives, companies and governments in the cocoa sector, we are committed to increasing cocoa productivity and strengthening sustainable livelihoods.
In our cocoa work in Peru and across the globe, we employ a climate-smart agricultural value chain approach that improves access to inputs and technical resources, strengthens local capacity, expands post-harvest processing, and provides greater access to export markets. We strongly believe in helping cocoa farmers and their families earn a living income while increasing opportunities for women and youth. Through our work with extension training, sustainability research and deployment of digital tools such as Cacao Móvil, we are reaching tens of thousands of new farmers with improved techniques and technologies.
Lutheran World Relief also leads cacao programming for the Maximizing Opportunities in Coffee and Cacao in the Americas (MOCCA) project, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a consortium led by Technoserve. Across Peru and five other countries in Latin America, we use a market systems approach to promote cacao production that focuses on increasing crop yields through agroforestry systems, improving cacao quality, enhancing the professional capacity of both farmers and producer organizations, and facilitating linkages between buyers and sellers.
In the VRAEM region of Peru, Lutheran World Relief works with the women-led Qori Warmi cooperative. By strengthening the resilience and sustainability of the cocoa cooperative, Lutheran World Relief advances women’s empowerment, agricultural productivity and environmental responsibility. The project promotes cocoa as a legal and high-value crop alternative to coca as it supports entrepreneurial capacity and leadership within the cooperative.
Find us at the Cocoa and Chocolate Salon in Peru from July 13-16 where Carolina Aguilar, director of MOCCA’s cocoa programming, will be leading a session on cocoa differentiation for market access. She will showcase MOCCA’s Cocoa Flavor Map, an innovative online tool that highlights the flavor diversity of cocoa and helps cocoa farmers diversify their crop, gain recognition and reach new markets.
Enma Mendez Sinchitullo, Qori Warmi cooperative leader, will also be presenting a session on the role of women in strengthening organizational process and cocoa production in the VRAEM. She will draw on her experience with Qori Warmi and how, over the last five years, the cooperative has become an example for stable business development in the VRAEM as it continues to produce award-winning chocolate.
