Borneo Good Cacao: The Artisan Specialist

Merasa, Long Lanuk and Suaran villages are the home of indigenous Dayak communities who started cacao planting in the early 80s. Most of the cacao trees are planted with agroforestry system alongside other plants such as chili, eggplant, and peanut that used by communities for their household daily needs. The cacao agroforestry contributes to the increase of more than 300 ha of forest cover, in addition to 15,000 ha of natural forest that the community are committed to protect under social forestry scheme.

The cacao farmers in these villages continue to maintain the traditional ways of handling cacao, where the beans are manually sorted by hands, well fermented, and dried under the natural sunlight, keeping the signature flavors of Bornean cacao. Since 2019, the farmer groups have implemented their own Internal Control System (ICS) to ensure the standard of good agriculture practices.

The good quality and the good sustainable practice of the cacao farmers have made them the top choice for chocolate artisan specialist. It is vision to introduce not only their cacao to the world, but also the communities’ wisdom and traditional way to protect the forests and nature.