Three tons of Zorzal Reserve organic cacao left from Andres, Boca Chica to Charleston, South Carolina, USA, on the impressive Tres Hombres tall ship on Thursday, 28 March 2019. The tall ship had docked in Andrés, Boca Chica port in the southeast to pick up the valuable cargo from the Zorzal private forestry reserve. It is following the same route at about the same time of the year of the minute yet very courageous Zorzal songbirds that gives the reserve its name. The birds every year travel from the northeastern mountain area that is adjacent to its big brother, the Quita Espuela Scientific Reserve, to the state of Vermont in the United States.
The Zorzal Private Reserve is a combined effort of the Moreno brothers, Jaime, Jesus, and Ana Angélica, founders of the Quita Espuela Scientific Reserve and the Helados Bon ice cream company; US nature investor Jamie Philip, and chocolate entrepreneur Charles Kerchner, who have taken on the challenge to operate the private reserve to encourage fair trade cacao production and to attract investors with an unpretending but charming ecological tourism where visitors can see for themselves where chocolate comes from. The Quita Espuela Foundation is presided by Jesus Moreno, who took over the helm of the conservation started by his father Don Alfonso Moreno. Quita Espuela seeks to conserve the forests where many important Dominican rivers are born with a conservation model that fosters positive occupation in the land in order to turn the inhabitants into protectors of the forests. Zorzal Private Reserve builds on this experience.
In this new conservation effort, the Morenos were joined by Philip, whose investment made possible this second reserve, the Zorzal Private Reserve. Commenting on the trip of the Tres Hombres tall ship, Philip highlights that it happens at about the same time the bird would be flying north every year. “Hopefully some of the birds that are living at the farm may even cross paths with the boat during their mutual voyages to the north.”
Symbolically, this is a truly organic venture. It is the first shipment of cacao beans sailed to the United States on a “small” wind-powered vessel, without burning any fossil fuel and leaving a zero carbon footprint. Says Philip: “For us, it’s a great precedent-setting event. We hope to pave the way for more international commerce to be done in an inspired, environmentally-friendly way.”
The visit coincides with the 2019 Zorzal Cacao Makers Trip from 7 to 9 April 2019. The tour includes an immersion in cacao, but also outings to Cabarete Beach and Quita Espuela mountain areas to meet the micro- producers, see how cacao is farmed, fermented and dried before it travels to the gourmet producers in the United States, such as chocolate craft makers, Dandelion and Raaka Chocolate, that participate in this forestry conservation-oriented United States-Dominican Republic partnership.
Read more:
Fair Transport
Raakachocolate
Dandelion
Zorzal Cacao
4 April 2019