By Theyo Team
From international development work to the bottom-up approach
Before founding Kokoa Kamilis, Simran and Brian worked in international development work. Like many other industry experts, the two did not think much of the offers of help from international NGOs and top-down support offers for Tanzanian farmers. Instead, they wanted to work closely with the farmers and thus have a direct, positive impact on their living environments. In just a few years, they have achieved what decades of development work have failed to do: they pay the cocoa farmers in the Morogoro region purchase prices that are far higher than the average. But not only that: Due to their very fair pricing, other buyers in the region had to follow suit and raise their prices as well.Cacao cultivation in Tanzania: quality instead of quantity
But how did it happen? After the two founders had examined the international market more closely, they came to the conclusion that Tanzania could position itself well on the world market primarily through quality instead of quantity. Her approach is therefore to only buy the best cocoa beans from the cocoa farmers. With their high premiums (at least 16% above local market prices), they incentivize farmers to focus on improving the quality of their beans. But not only that: the prices that Kokoa Kamili pays to cocoa farmers for unprocessed cocoa are published. In addition, they use certified scales to implement the broadest possible transparency in their processes. Overall, this leads to greater transparency within the Tanzanian cocoa market and strengthens the relationship of trust between Kokoa Kamili and the local cocoa farmers.standardization and quality control
Unlike many other exporters, Kokoa Kamili buys the freshly harvested cocoa directly from over 2,000 smallholders in Tanzania. For comparison: In many other countries, the fermentation and drying process is also the responsibility of the cocoa farmers. As a result, there are frequent fluctuations in the quality of the fermented cocoa beans. Many errors can occur, especially during the fermentation process . Many cocoa farmers are also simply overwhelmed with such a wide range of tasks. That is why the founders of Kokoa Kamili have agreed with the Tanzanian government on a work-sharing approach. The cocoa farmers can concentrate on growing and harvesting the cocoa. While Kokoa Kamili has set up a standardized, centralized and controlled post-harvest process. This gives the cocoa farmers more time for their core activities and at the same time an improvement in their quality of life.100,000 cocoa trees for Tanzania
Kokoa Kamili has also managed to create more than 50 jobs (with wages 2.7 times higher than local standards) in a short period of time. In a region that is otherwise characterized by high unemployment. Many of these employees are farmers themselves and have been trained to work with other cocoa farmers to develop more productive cultivation and harvesting methods, thereby increasing the yield and quality of their cocoa over the long term.
In addition to these notable achievements, Kokoa Kamili has launched a very successful seedling program. Since 2013, Kokoa Kamili has planted over 100,000 cacao trees in her own nursery. Over 20% of this was given to Tanzanian cocoa farmers free of charge and donated to local orphanages and schools as an additional source of income.
Despite the many successes that Kokoa Kamili can already look back on, they are in constant competition with other buyers. These can offer lower prices, but are better motorized. This allows them to reach regions that Kokoa Kamili cannot access.
From Tanzania to Theyo
We are pleased to offer several chocolates in our shop that are made from Kokoa Kamili cocoa beans. We love their fruity and woody notes found in Mesjokke, Omnom and Original Beans chocolates. Incidentally, the beans are local Trinitario hybrids.More information about cocoa cultivation in Tanzania can be found on the Kokoa Kamili website.
