#Oaxacanita

[worldipday]

Reviving Indigenous Mixtec Cocoa Traditions.

The social enterprise Oaxacanita Chocolate embraces Mexicoʼs rich cocoa culture and is working with Indigenous communities to revive these traditions while spurring the social, economic and environmental development in the state of Oaxaca. Founder German Santillán is building a business that embraces the principles of fair trade and environmental sustainability in collaboration with local communities. “I teamed up with local Indigenous families in Oaxaca, and we began operations in an empty room in my grandmotherʼs house. We started cultivating 20 cacao trees and now we have 5,000 under cultivation in five towns across the region,” he says. Today, Oaxacanita Chocolate is the first proudly Indigenous chocolate company in Mexico to form international alliances with organizations such as the Inter-American Foundation and the US Government.

Intellectual property has played a significant role in brand development. “The first thing we did in Oaxacanita Chocolate – Oaxacanita means, ʻthe little girl of Oaxacaʼ in Zapotec-Spanish –  was to register the name of our brand. Then we opened our Facebook page where most of our marketing operations take place. Thatʼs where we make 80% of our total sales,” Santillán explains. Looking to the future, Oaxacanita Chocolate plans to promote its brand and increase its value in multiple markets beyond Mexico. By 2022, the company had sold over 2,000 kilos of chocolate and was expanding its online presence to Canada and the United States.

Reviving Indigenous Cocoa Traditions

In rural areas of Mexicoʼs Mixtec region, the educational program La Escuelita del Cacao teaches children from Indigenous communities the importance of adopting sustainable agricultural practices. (Photo: Courtesy of Oaxacanita Chocolate)

[pacozeacom]

Chocolate para mejorar la vida de la mixteca oaxaqueña

Chocolate para mejorar la vida de la mixteca oaxaqueña

Oaxacanita Chocolate fue seleccionada en 2016 por el gobierno de Barack Obama, a través de la Young Leaders of the American Initiative, como uno de los mejores proyectos de emprendimiento social en América Latina y el Caribe

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[galigio]

Oaxacanita Chocolate: Helping a Community Grow

http://dlvr.it/RRLDpV