Back to The Roots – The Beginning of Cacao in the Alto Huayabamba

The Alto Huayababa valley, where the Choba Choba Foundation operates, is nestled between the Andes and the Amazon plains. 

From mid-1980 to mid-1990 the coca economy was booming in the region, but although the farmers in economic terms could improve their living standards, the overall conditions deteriorated as the coca boom has been accompanied by high levels of violence and arbitrariness. The two guerrilla groups Sendero Luminoso (engl. Shining Path) and Movimento Revolucionario Tupac Amarú (MRTA) entered the region, started to finance their political underground movement by claiming protection money and easily took over the violence monopoly as the state presence in the region always has been minimal.

New life with cacao

However, a lot has changed since then, and today the Alto Huayabamba communities are mainly dedicated to organic cocoa farming.

Watch here the unique story of a father and son. How Oswaldo became a cacao pioneer of the Alto Huayabamba Valley. How he passed on his passion and rich experience to his son. And how today, they have an even greater vision for their cacao and their lives …