Meet the Grower
Fortaleza del Valle
Location: Manabí, Ecuador
Varietal: Nacional Arriba
Flavour notes: Dark fruit, deep molasses, and oaky notes
Description
The Fortaleza del Valle cooperative consists of approximately 600 individuals distributed within the cantons of Bolívar, Tosagua, Chone, Junín and Portoviejo within the Province of Manabí. As a second-tier organisation, Fortaleza del Valle is formed of four first-tier cooperatives: Valle Del Carrizal, La Fortaleza, Quiroga, and Rio Grande de Canuto. Since 2005, Fortaleza del Valle has been operating a Fair Trade system, and the cooperative as a whole prioritises producing cocoa which has been fairly traded, promoting the social, economic and environmental development of its members and families.
The cooperative has developed post-harvest infrastructure, such as central fermentation centres, to ensure the beans are of good quality. Fair Trade premiums have been used to invest in pre-harvesting financing, pruning and replanting of trees to rehabilitate the farms, education and training, and infrastructure for local organisations.
Harvest times: November – March (main crop), July – September (fly crop)
Harvest volumes: 2200 mt
Number of farmers: 983
Hectares farmed: 2034
Farming notes: Farms are diversified to include fruit and timber trees. In an arid zone unsuitable for agriculture, the farmers benefit from the Carrizal Chone irrigation project, an embankment dam installed by the central government of Ecuador
Fermentation and drying notes: Coming soon.
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