Pinay chef’s Cacao Project

“Anything is good if it's made of chocolate.”

—Jo Brand

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE Cacao Project in the Philippines earned another head-turning plaudit when the New York City-based United Nations (UN) recognized in its U.N. News Global Perspective Human Stories how it helped the local farmers and how it was founded by a Filipina chef.

Recognized as a prodigy of the culinary world since the age of 12, when she appeared on the Filipino version of the TV show Junior Masterchef, Louise Mabulo, since then, has won several awards for her cooking, and has become a world-renowned social activist, according to U.N. News.

A 2019 UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Young Champion of the Earth, Mabulo is the founder of The Cacao Project, which works to improve the livelihoods of Filipino farmers in the Bicol Region, by reviving barren lands through tree planting, creating economic forests and nurseries, and promoting fair trade and reforestation, reported the U.N. News.

For several hundred years, cacao has been part of Philippine history.

But only recently has the country reawaken as a potential origin for high-quality cacao, according to writer Jeremy Burnich.

“Recognizing that growing purely for volume is not a strategic direction for a country made up of disparate islands, the entire Philippine cacao industry has rallied around producing quality,” Burnich wrote on November 18, 2019. 

“This focus on quality has been echoed from the farm to the makers and everyone involved in the industry is learning and sharing how to improve quality across the entire value chain.”

 

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Meanwhile, this was how U.N. News quoted Mabulo as she explained the evolution of cacao project and how local farmers are able to learn sustainable techniques to help them cope with climate change:

“As a chef, I am frequently in contact with farmers. These discussions gave me a good insight into the problems with the food system in the Philippines: where there are gaps, and where there is over-supply. 

“This prompted me to start farm-to-table dinners, using only local ingredients. When Bicol region was hit hard by a typhoon, I began a relief effort for farmers, but I realized that this could only have a superficial effect on their lives, so I oriented my career towards agriculture.

“The Philippines is one of the countries that is most severely affected by climate change: since September of last year, we have been struck by three typhoons and, in Bicol, where I’m from, 400 homes were destroyed. 

“Whilst Bicol is a lush and green region, far from urban centres, there is still a lot of degradation. When typhoons destroy crops and farms, people with no other option will do what they can to create income, including cutting down trees.

“The Cacao Project’s goal is to ensure that farmers don’t have to resort to these kinds of measures, and to provide them with the resources they need for sustainable success, even in the face of extreme weather events.

“For example, we explain that leaves shaken from trees from storms create a lot of mulch, which providers great compost. Using trees for mulch is more restorative and sustainable than removing the trees, and it improves the soil. The methods we teach them are helping them to save money, and improve their harvests.

“Our approach is completely in line with the UN’s recommended approach to farming: more nature-friendly, more supportive of biodiversity, limiting the use of pesticides and herbicides, and cultivating a wider range of indigenous crops.

 

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“Before the project began, a small range of crops were being cultivated: mainly corn, coconut and rice. Once we started working with the farmers, they began to introduce more crops that are well suited to the local conditions, such as bell peppers, okra and, of course, cacao.

“Many of the farmers involved in The Cacao Project have seen significant improvements to their lives. They’re learning modern techniques, and have been able to put their children through school. Women are being empowered: we have women trainers and supervisors, and the quality of their work is being recognized.

“Younger people are also becoming more interested in farming, which has not been valued as a profession in the past: it was associated with poverty and failure. Today they’re turning their backyards into gardens, and even planting trees in land they’ve inherited from their parents. They’re proud to be farmers, which they see as being part of the solution to climate change.”

The natural habitat of the cocoa tree is in the lower story of the evergreen rainforest. 

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 25.7% or about 7,665,000 hectares of the Philippines are properly forested for potential cacao use. Of this 11.2% ( 861,000 ) is classified as primary forest, the most biodiverse and carbon-dense form of forest. 

Burnich explained that “rainfalls should be plentiful and well distributed throughout the year (between 1,500mm and 2,000mm per year is preferred). The average rainfall for the Philippines is just about 2,000mm/6.5 feet per year.”

A hot and humid climate is also essential for the optimum development of cocoa trees. The Philippines has an average humidity of 75%. So in terms of location and climate, the Philippines has it all, according to Burnich.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)