“Cordillera is a part of Groupo NUTRESA and is absolutely dedicated to constructing a sustainable enterprise,” she says in our podcast interview. There are 65,000 cocoa-growing households in Colombia, and we work instantly with them – that has been happening for 66 years, even when the phrase ‘Sustainability’ was absent when discussing enterprise.
“We’ve believed within the significance of sustainability for a very long time, and we have been working instantly with cocoa farmers for all of those years.”
‘ATENEA – Girls Who Transcend’ is the corporate’s sustainability initiative with a ‘larger function,’ creating the capacities of rural cocoa-growing ladies to enhance their high quality of life and that of their households and communities whereas sustaining Colombia’s distinctive ecosystem.
Sarasty explains the idea additional: “So final yr, Cordillera, our B2B model, focused and developed, I’d say the primary of its sort, on this scale, a sustainability program concentrating on cocoa-growing ladies, rural ladies to construct a program to determine capabilities particularly.
“We consider within the energy of ladies to impression and generate a metamorphosis on a bigger scale. We consider that we’re not impacting a person after we impression ladies. We’re impacting a household. We’re impacting a neighborhood and on a bigger scale.
“So we constructed ATENEA as they navigate this system primarily based on and impressed by the United Nations Sustainability Agenda.”
Milestones
Sarasty says that in lower than a yr, this system has had vital early wins, milestones that they didn’t count on to succeed in at such an early stage.
Notable achievements embrace some ladies already beginning their very own firms, together with a cookie store, an ice cream store, and two chocolate firms.
“They’re startups, and it has already generated extra earnings for the farmers and their households,” she says.
The primary coaching module, “Entrepreneurship within the processing of chocolate merchandise,” has been accomplished. Now, the ladies transfer on to Module 2: Monetary Schooling for Rural Girls earlier than ending this system with Module 3: Feminine Empowerment.
Sarasty and colleagues from Chocolate Cordillera will current extra of their findings throughout Amsterdam Cocoa Week subsequent month when they are going to be attending the CHOCOA sustainability convention and the World Cocoa Basis Partnership Assembly.
Aligning for cocoa motion
The theme throughout the week-long periods will likely be ‘aligning for cocoa motion.’ Chocolate Cordillera is a WCF associate, and Sarasty says the aligning collectively message must be taken significantly.
“We have seen previously six months cocoa costs hovering, globally there have been disruptions, political disruptions, financial, social disruptions worldwide … this calls for each considered one of us concerned within the cocoa and chocolate worth chain to work collectively …. the phrase ‘opponents’ ought to disappear as a result of world motion means we’re all in right here. There’s only one planet.”
- Try the interview with Alejandra Sarasty in full by listening to the podcast.
