Diego
The Spirit
Diego - Bahia, Brazil | photo © Jason Florio
Diego Badaró is a fifth generation cacao farmer in Brazil. He continues a 100 year-old tradition of farming on the southern coast of Bahia, Brazil in the “cacao zone” where plants have existed for over 300 years. This area used to be the source of the largest cacao production on the planet until it was almost obliterated by the witches’-broom fungus plague in the early 1980s and devastated the local economy.
This passionate and handsome 28 year old is dedicated to planting the trees in the conventional way, under the canopy of the rain forest with minimal impact on the environment. He is investing in 100% organic methods to create a select product and reinvigorate the region’s industry and the community. His fine-grain premium cacao is sold to exclusive chocolatiers in Europe and the US. He is now partnering with Frederick Schilling to develop a reforestation program and a new brand of chocolate from source to retail that will change the Bahia region in the long term.
More…
Click here to keep track of our progress.