Luker Chocolate's longest-running “The Chocolate Dream” project, The Cacao Effect, has been completed, reaching and enriching over 6,000 rural families in Colombia.

The five-year initiative focused on increasing farmer income through productivity, strengthening farmer associations, and improving education and resilience in rural communities that have been strongly affected by violence. The closing event was held on November 24 in Bogotá, Colombia, and showcased the impact of the project. It also provided an opportunity for attendees to connect with the project participants.

The Cacao Effect Project was rolled out as part of Luker’s plan “The Chocolate Dream," a root and branch of Luker’s sustainability strategy. The cooperation agreement was signed on November 30, 2018, for a period of five years. The Alliance consists of Luker Chocolate; USAID Colombia, Luker Foundation, Enel Colombia, Saldarriaga Concha Foundation, EAFIT University, and IDH (the Sustainable Trade Initiative). Together, the shared mission was to strengthen cocoa production and enhance the livelihoods of cocoa producers and their communities in four main regions of the country, Urabá, Bajo Cauca, Huila, and Tumaco—areas historically affected by conflict, illicit crops, and violence.

Julia Ocampo, Luker's VP of cacao sourcing and sustainability says: “The Cacao Effect set the foundation of our anchor model approach, that we currently use to implement The Chocolate Dream. By partnering with diverse allies, we can have a more significant impact in the communities and their ecosystem. As we grow The Chocolate Dream, we will continue working with cocoa-growing communities, with a special focus on generational inclusion so that young people have better opportunities to integrate into the sector and see a prosperous future in cacao.”

The Cacao Effect - An anchor for peace in cocoa territories

For decades, the Colombian countryside has been the scene of armed conflict, with cacao farming areas lying within some of the most impacted regions. These territories have suffered the effects of conflict connected to the prevalence of illegal crop cultivation. Cacao growing has emerged as the conduit for economic empowerment in these communities, following a $36.35 million dollar investment—of which $7.5 million came from international cooperation, mainly from USAID. In the past five years, The Cacao Effect has been a guiding light for cocoa-growing communities in Colombia, creating inclusive rural development opportunities that are sufficiently powerful to improve the quality of life of the producing families and their communities.

“Although this project reaches its conclusion, we want to emphasize that the work does not end here," assures Jeremiah Carew, mission director in charge of USAID Colombia, “on the contrary, with the alliances we have strengthened and improved capacity, cocoa farmers have a path forward to continue generating greater income.”

The project focused on five key areas:

• Productivity – Enhanced cocoa productivity with over 700 participating farmers trained in Luker’s climate-smart agricultural methodology including agroforestry design, pruning, and soil nutrition, the participating farmers saw an increase in productivity of 42%.
• Entrepreneurship –The Cocoa Effect partnered with the communities to help bring innovative new business ideas to life that would bring in new and lucrative income streams. 837 individuals were trained in entrepreneurship, 63% of whom are women.
• Farming Associations – The Cocoa Effect worked to strengthen farming associations—which are an important source of support for small farmers—with administrative training programs, technical help, and advice on best commercial practices, so they could provide better levels of support to their members. Over 20 cocoa farming associations were strengthened with a 36% improvement in the Organizational Capacity Index among associations from 2019-2023.
• Education – The Cacao Effect partnered with rural schools in the regions to implement thorough reading and vocational education programs to both improve comprehension skills and better equip teens to find future jobs. 3,606 children, youths, and adults received academic program training.
• Resilience –The project engaged with farming communities that have suffered through years of conflict to help them both recover and improve resilience against future challenges. The Cocoa Effect worked with 1,435 individuals in neighboring communities offering psychological support to help develop coping mechanisms for conflict resolution.