Sustainable Cacao: From Seed to Sapling

Rain season has begun here in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Colombia. For us at Finca La Frecuencia, this means it is time to plant the cacao trees we have grown from seed.

If you have ever wondered what it might be like to grow cacao trees, here is a journey into the process.

In the beginning is the seed. Tiny almond-like seeds are found by opening a cacao fruit. Beneath the outer shell and the super-sweet white flesh lies the seeds. Make sure to clean the seeds of the slimey fruit residue, or else the local ants will eat everything before it begins.

Finding good seed is key, so we got ours from our brother farm 'Finca de Juancho' on the other side of the Sierras. With 12 kilograms of seeds we were able to get around 4,300 seeds.

Fortunately for us, we are in the region of the world where cacao originates. This means ancient seedlines of criollo cacao, which are the most complex and delicious variety in the world, grow beautifully here in their native land.

Within a few days of cleaning the cacao, the seeds sprout tails, whereby we fill bags with a mix of organic soil from our land, chicken manure and agricultural limestone to respectively provide substrate, nutrition and protection from fungal activity.

For five months we feed them water and partial sun. Soon enough they become strong little trees, their roots ready to burst through the bottoms of their bags into the ground. This is when it is time to plant.

After five months, these guys are ready for their new holes in the ground.

Oh wait, one more step! You probably want to clear the forest a bit, to make space for the cacao trees. While some shade is good, too much shade will actually be harmful.

So we grab machetes and garavatos (hook-sticks) and chop the grass, vines, bushes and skinny trees that have grown uncontrollably over the last fifteen years.

The added benefits to this step are the mulch cover, nutrients for the soil and cover for the ground that is provided by the freshly cut organic matter.

The path is clear, holes are being dug, plants put in the ground.

By taking the time to do this all by hand, we've left the root structures and microbial balance of the soil intact, which is key to growing food in a sustainable manner.

Now the stage is set. We are ready. Poca Lucha has the post digger, working like Swiss clockwork, making holes 40 cm x 80 cm deep in seemingly effortless hard labor. Pin Pin follows with chicken manure and limestone, a tree to plant and a shovel to mix the soil soup. With efficient care he tucks each tree into its new forever home in the ground.

The other day I asked Poca Lucha how many trees we've planted thus far. He said 'I have no idea', though me and Pin guess it's over 3,000 trees already. Essentially all the jungle we've cleared that isn't being guarded for future building sites is being planted with cacao trees at 3 m x 3 m spacing.

Needless to say, a lot of incredibly hard work goes into this process. Digging holes and carrying 3 kg trees up the mountain to be planted, plus the manure and limestone, means you better have mules or superhumans.

At Finca La Frecuencia we have superhumans. Poca Lucha and Pin Pin have devised a way to carry up to 27 trees up the mountains in one load. That is 81 kg worth of trees carried by one person. Up a mountain.

Hard work. Good technique. Rain blessings. A labor of love. This is the path of creating an organic cacao farm done with principles of sustainability and permaculture. And we are on our way.