Increasing the Resilience of Dominican Cacao to Changes in Climate

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The Dominican Republic has a long and rich history in the production of cacao. However, farmers have struggled to increase the resilience of their cacao yields to changes in the climate. Rebecca Roebber, Marketing Director and COO of indi chocolate, recently traveled to the Dominican Republic to share her expertise in cacao production and quality assurance. In particular, Rebecca worked alongside IDIAF (Instituto Dominicano De Investigacion Agropecuarias Y Forestales) staff members to help them improve their production practices to become more sustainable in face of climate change and increase the quality and value of their cacao. Following an initial assessment of their current production practices, Rebecca provided training sessions on methods to increase the quality of organic cacao through improvements in pruning and post harvest practices. She also emphasized the importance of soil nutrition to ensure the quality and sustainability of their cacao yields. Rebecca also noted a significant need for a fermentation and drying center to facilitate farmers’ post harvest activities and subsequently contribute to higher quality yields.

In addition to assisting farmers with increasing the quality of their yields, Rebecca also shared best practices in marketing and chocolate making to help them add value to their cacao and increase their income opportunities. During these workshops, she demonstrated the various steps involved in chocolate-making, including roasting, winnowing (removing the outer shell of the beans), refining, tempering, and packaging. Additionally, Rebecca recommended venturing into the local tourist industry to create alternative opportunities. She suggested that they could organize demonstrations for tourists to showcase the complete process of making chocolate, from cacao production to the final product.

Rebecca Roebber has extensive experience in cacao production and quality control. Through her work at indi chocolate she has also led the marketing strategy for their chocolate and cacao product line. Rebecca has previously volunteered with our Farmer-to-Farmer flex program in Ecuador, training smallholder farmers in rural communities in best practices for cacao processing.

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