At the end of March, Plant With Purpose hosted a Vision Trip to the Dominican Republic (DR). I, along with several donors and Plant With Purpose U.S. staff, had the privilege of visiting our partners in the DR and seeing the incredible work they’re doing to transform their communities. Just a few hours into our first day, it became abundantly clear that cacao farming is transforming lives in the Dominican Republic. As we drove out of Santo Domingo, we noticed cacao trees everywhere. Cacao plots were scattered throughout the hills, nestled between buildings, and stray cacao trees even grew on the side of the road!
Cacao is especially lucrative in the Dominican Republic right now. Countries in Africa that were once huge producers of cacao are in the midst of a drought. As their cacao production slows down, more and more people are eating chocolate around the world and the demand for cacao is increasing every day. To meet this demand, companies are willing to drive to remote communities in the mountains to pay rural farmers high prices for the cacao they harvest. “Even I have thought about growing cacao!” joked Erica, a director at Plant With Purpose Dominican Republic.
A harvest of cacao beans drying in the sun.
Though most farmers are eager and interested in growing cacao, poverty and environmental degradation can create a downward spiral that keeps farmers and their farms from thriving to their full potential. This is where Floresta comes in, offering an agricultural curriculum that combines regenerative agriculture and savings practices under a spiritual framework. Armed with new knowledge and supported by a community of peers, participating farmers are creating waves of change in their communities. Durbel, the country director who has been with Floresta Dominican Republic for almost 30 years, puts it best: “When I introduce Plant With Purpose to a new community they always ask me, ‘What benefit do you provide?’ I tell them, ‘The benefit is progress.’”
For one graduated Purpose Group in Région Central, there is evidence of this progress everywhere. During our visit we were hosted by Laura, a farmer who has always been a leader in her community. When Floresta first visited her neighborhood 12 years ago and the new Purpose Group was looking for a place to meet, everyone turned to Laura. They started with a Purpose Group of only seven people, and saved about $4,500 USD by the end of their first year. Twelve years later this graduated Purpose Group still meets at Laura’s home, but their lives look completely different. They have grown from seven to twenty-seven people, with over $26,000 USD in equity! Their homes are now made of brick instead of wood and they’ve used their savings and loans to buy cars, washing machines, cows and pigs, and other things for their homes and farms.
Laura, her Purpose Group, and our Vision Trip team in Laura’s backyard. Laura is in the dark green shirt on the front row.
Their cacao farms are thriving, producing so much fruit that cacao companies drive to their neighborhoods to collect the produce. We even saw a tree that produced so much fruit that its trunk snapped under the weight. And these farmers aren’t only growing cacao. The avocados, squash, lemon, cinnamon, banana, plantain, and other plants they grow between the cacao trees can strengthen their farm’s soil, protect the cacao from drought and floods, and provide plenty of extra produce for their families. The youngest farms, only about 5 years old, still produce remarkable amounts of fruit. And the oldest farms have been passed down from one generation to the next. Laura’s farm boasted a massive cacao tree that was planted by her parents over 80 years ago! Laura pointed to the fruit ripening on its branches and told us that in the Dominican Republic, they have a saying, “Cacao lives forever.” Every farmer we met was beaming with pride in their farms and hope for their future.
A cacao tree, bent over from the weight of its fruit.
Laura and her Purpose Group in Région Central are one of over 500 similar Purpose Groups working with Plant With Purpose in the Dominican Republic. This kind of transformation is happening everywhere. Children are saving money alongside their parents, degraded land is being renewed, and entire hillsides are being reforested. Land that was thought to be desolate and unusable is being transformed into thriving farms that can be passed down through generations. For thousands of farmers in the Dominican Republic, the future is looking very bright.
