Success Story: Ecuadorian Farmer Rehabilitates Trees, Raises Income

Mr. Raúl González and his family own a 15-year old, 3 hectare cocoa farm in Naranjal, Ecuador.

He is a member of Nariz del Diablo, a 100-member farmer organization that receives support from ACCESO and WCF-member Anecacao through its membership in La Unión de Riberas del Rio Bulu Bulu. 

“With the technical assistance of Anecacao and the contribution of ACCESO, we began an initiative to strengthen our organization by training our members and building infrastructure for post-harvest handling.

ACCESO has contributed with a set of fermentation boxes and [solar] dryer for post-harvest,” says Mr. González. 

Working with Anecacao, he has rehabilitated 1.5 hectares of the older trees on his farm. 

As a result of this assistance and the quality training his organization received through ACCESO, Mr. González has noticed significant results: 

“Before, we harvested only 250 kilograms per year. We fermented the beans without using boxes; consequently, we got lower prices because of the problems with quality.  This affected my family income.

Then, I realized that it’s very important to apply what we learn in the training sessions.”

Today, Mr. González’s farm produces 750 kilograms of cocoa annually.

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