Why Belize
Cacao or “Kakaw” as it is locally known, is an integral part of the Maya culture. The Maya people to this present day cultivate 95% of Belize’s fine flavour cacao. Up until 2007, 100% of Belize’s cacao was exported to Europe. However, in the past 10 years 15% of the total cacao production is now being processed by local chocolate companies primarily for tourist.
At Mahogany Chocolate we aim to transform the highly sought after local Belize “Kakaw” into a high quality gourmet product at affordable cost for both the local and export markets. The team behind Mahogany Chocolate has devised a socially sustainable and ecological program that is already adding value and creating employment throughout Belize.
Our Mission
Our mission is to produce premium gourmet chocolate products using the finest Belizean cacao beans that are ecologically grown. We are a vertically integrated company that has control over the chocolate making process from seed to bean to bar.
Our 3 Pillars Of Sustainability
Socially
We educate, assist and monitor our local cacao farmers that are part of our program so our farmers can focus on growing cacao to feed their families.
They focus on growing the best varieties and they earn top dollar from us for their top shelf cacao.
In addition to providing a reliable and consistent annual cash market for our program farmer’s wet beans, we also offer a free seedlings program.
Our program farmers can claim seedlings from our nursery, FREE, as long as they agree to plant and lovingly grow them to increase the size of their farms, to further help feed their families.
It all begins with the farmers and our respect for their cacao culture and traditional way of life!
Environmentally
Peini Cacao Plantation currently operates 107 acres of cacao farmland. Our farms are managed on an individual tree basis by our permanent on- staff team of cacao & agriculture experts.
The rigorous application of our proprietary “Art of Cacao Science” principles means your cacao is always grown in an environmentally sustainable and responsible manner.
It also means we can bring to you a consistent high quality Fine Flavor Cacao product for your chocolate creations.
Economically
Our unique Bean Buying Program and centralized processing bridges the gap between our local cacao farmers and the global cacao market without foregoing quality.
We buy only freshly harvested wet beans and transport them to our central fermentation & drying depot where we control the processing.
Every weekend during the harvest season our cacao farmers can depend on our team to be at their doorstep to buy their cacao beans, for cash!
This ensures that our cacao farmers are very well rewarded for quality and ensures your chocolate products start with the best harvest.