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How Sweet it is! Colombian Chocolate
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Colombia grows some of the world's finest chocolate.
 Leydis markets that chocolate with the help of a TCP Global loan. 

Quality cacao planted 50 years ago by indigenous tribes is now a lucrative alternative to drug production. Shade grown chocolate trees remove carbon from the atmosphere.  

Moral of story:

Save the Earth
Eat More Chocolate. 
The seed ranges from white to purple surrounded by white fruit. Although the fruit is delicious, only the seed is used to make chocolate.
Cacao farmers make artisanal drinking chocolate by adding panela (unrefined sugar) and milk or water. It is typical to drink hot chocolate in the mornings.
Colombia has two harvest seasons: February-May and October-November.

Cacao is native to the Americas, originating in the Amazon but today more cacao is grown in Africa than in Latin America. 

Order Colombian chocolate online through Dandelion
A few years ago, Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) began working with     
 Cacao for Peace.

In 2020 PCV Elyse Magen (right) introduced chocolate growers to TCP Global. 
 

Yanet received a TCP Global micro-loan. In pre-Covid times, she sold to tourists at Tayrona National Park and at events in Santa Marta. She hikes two hours to attend Guardabosques cooperative meetings.

Four women of the “Transformación Group” in San Rafael, Colombia are building their chocolate laboratory. Two of them received TCP Global loans. 
Yoleida (left) received a micro-loan of $250 in July to expand her roadside restaurant and chocolate production. Her family farm in the mountains grows premium cacao. She hopes to one day live off her chocolate business, which sells beauty products like cacao butter (made from chocolate derivatives) and rich chocolate desserts. Of indigenous descent, she is working to connect with indigenous groups so they can work together and support each other. Juliana manages the TCP Global program for Guardabosques in Guachaca. 

Favio received a loan of $130 for his business leading nature and cacao-cultivation tours, a business opportunity that only exists thanks to chocolate. 

Cultivation of coca (cocaine) used to be the cash-crop of choice. With the substitution of chocolate, violence associated with the drug trade subsided, making the area attractive for tourism.

There are new job opportunities in restaurants selling typical Colombian meals, sale of chocolate desserts, leading nature tours and running eco lodges. Several borrowers received loans to make the transition from the drug trade.

 
All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
                                                                  Muhammad Yunus
 
How you can support TCP Global:

1) Connect us, like Elyse did. She helped TCP Global set up a loan program serving chocolate producers in Guachaca, Colombia.  

2) Forward this notice so others can learn from Marvin how a little capital can have a huge impact. 

3) Volunteer like Kenney, to mentor a loan program in a country you know well

4) Make a donation like Lisa Frankel of Atlanta. 
Why I support TCP Global

I developed a strong love for Colombia as a student during my Junior Year abroad in college.  Years later I had the great fortune to travel to Colombia with Helene, one of the TCP founders to meet with a couple of the organizations administering the loans, as well as some of the loan recipients.  
 
Their individual stories, including the reasons that they were forced to leave their homes and what was required to re-start their businesses, were incredibly inspiring stories of resilience and hard work.  

The money donated to TCP goes directly to people that need it the most, and can use it the most effectively to sustain their families and their communities.  That is why I am proud to support The Colombia Project - TCP Global. 

Lisa Frankel, RPCV Estonia, Dominican Republic Crisis Corps, former committee member of The Colombia Project
For more info, contact TCPGlobal@peacecorpsconnect.org
Helpful Links
Webinar on TCP Global
Short Video - How it Works
 
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