This is the story of Gloria Herrera and her cooperative. Together they took up the fight against an unjust system of commercialisation.
Fighting against an unjust system of commercialization
Notwithstanding a long history of cocoa farming reaching back to prehispanic times, cocoa producers in El Salvador are faced with a multitude of problems. Many arise from an unjust system of commercialization.
Working individually, most producers do not cooperate with each other and cannot afford equipment to further process the raw cocoa beans. Middlemen see this as an opportunity and take a large share of the profits.
"Now we are ready to increase the quality of rural life"
In 2010, Gloria Herrera and other cocoa producers of the region known as “Los Izalcos” took matters into their own hands.
The goal? To autonomously cultivate, process, and commercialize cocoa and its by-products on a sustainable basis in order to enable a better quality of life. Many projects and cooperations with governmental institutions and NGOs followed – some fruitful, others less so.
Step-by-step, the group eventually formed as a legally recognized association, named ACPACI (Cooperativa de Producción Agropecuaria Cacao Los Izalcos). By 2022, the number of members had grown to 25.
Knowledge is power
“We have always thought that knowledge is power. This is why our members are characterized by openly transferring their knowledge to new producers.”
– Gloria Herrera
Shorter
Supply Chains
In 2013, a long-lasting partnership formed between ACPACI and El Salvadorian organization FUNDESYRAM. Having extensive experience working with smallholder farmers on the topic of sustainable commercialisation, FUNDESYRAM was key for the development of functioning short supply chains between local producers, processors, and consumers.
Besides providing machinery and agroecological know-how, the project focused on short supply chains on multiple levels. This included establishing points of sales on fincas, Sunday markets, agricultural festivals, and through delivery services.
Communities of Practice
"This project was enhanced by horizont3000’s tool called communities of practice, where we interchanged good practices of supply chains with peers. This way, our producers learned and developed new strategies to sell products directly to consumers."
– Efraín Ortiz, a trainer from FUNDESYRAM, who supported Gloria's work.
Today...
Gloria is the president of an established cocoa cooperation. They created their own brand (NOYA Chocolates) and sell their products locally as well as through online shops.
What's more: ACPACI became a reference point for cocoa producers and processors, having now set up themselves a learning centre for technical trainings and knowledge transfer.
A bright future
"Within 5 years I would like to see us export our products, allied and in exchange with different organizations, cooperations, and producers, which share the same vision of quality and development."
– Gloria Herrera
