The El Ceibo cooperative was founded in 1977 in Alto Beni, an area of Bolivia in the Amazon with a long tradition of cocoa growing. The aim of the producers was to take over the processing and distribution of the cocoa they produced themselves, and to free themselves from exploitation by middlemen. It was the first time in the world that cocoa producers had attempted such an undertaking. El Ceibo consists of 49 grassroots cooperatives, in which 1,200 farming families take part. All stages of production, from cultivation to distribution, are carried out by the cooperative. The cocoa is produced without the use of chemicals. The cooperative processes and packages the cocoa in its own facilities and distributes the product through solidarity trade networks. The producers of the products we distribute struggle collectively within cooperatives, movements or organisations to change their lives in the harsh conditions of the "poor South" as well as of the "rich North". 

Production-packaging: El Ceibo cooperative, Bolivia 

Import: Altomercato cooperative, Italy