Cacao farmers in the rain forests of Belize are expected to benefit from a new deal with a British food company which is giving them a guaranteed price for their crop for three years. Green and Black's 'Maya Gold' chocolate bar, made from the cacao grown by Maya Indians in Belize's Southern Toledo district, is now on sale the Sainsbury's, the major supermarket chain, and health food shops throughout the United Kingdom. A contract signed with the Toledo Cacao Growers' Association (TCGA) means that all the cacao from over 300 farmers is exported directly to Britain at 48 pence per pound, a price that significantly exceeds that currently available on the open market. The deal was signed by Green and Black's after director Josephine Fairley learnt of the Maya crop while on a vacation. 'We were impressed by the quality of the cocoa beans produced by the traditional organic growing methods that the Maya growers used,' she says. The recipe for the 'Maya Gold' chocolate, using a blend of orange and spices, is based on a method used by the Maya, who were the first people in the world to grow cacao, and turn it into a drink called 'kukuh.'
Copyright 1994 Caribbean UPDATE, Inc.
