Perú Puro
For the production of its organic chocolates, Perú Puro only uses beans of the cocoa variety Chuncho, which is considered to be the "original cocoa" and is relatively rare.
Perú Puro uses only beans of the Chuncho cocoa variety, which is considered the "original cocoa" and is relatively rare, for the production of its Organic chocolates. The founders of Perú Puro are tropical ecologists. According to Dr. Arno Wielgoss, one of the two founders of Perú Puro, cacao is cultivated by 46 small farmers in Organic-certified cacao agroforestry systems. Not only cacao trees but also other tree varieties are planted in the fields, thus promoting biodiversity and creating a healthy microclimate. 200 km northeast of Cusco, on the eastern side of the Andes in the Peruvian mountain rainforest, lies the region that is one of the parts of the world with the greatest biodiversity of flora and fauna. This mountainous region with its branching side valleys is difficult to access: a journey from Cusco is very arduous and often takes longer than two days (for 200 km!)!
In 2012, Perú Puro founded the cocoa cooperative "APECMU" (Asociación de Productores Ecológicos de Cacao de Medio Urubamba) together with the cocoa farmers with the aim of being able to sell their products at fair prices. The next step was to produce chocolate with Perú Puro in order to make the value chain more lucrative for the farmers.
Perú Puro currently carries three chocolates: Chuncho Gold Grand Cru with 70% and 85% and one milk chocolate with 52% cocoa content. Two chocolates have already received awards from the International Chocolate Awards. The cocoa is processed by the Swiss company Felchlin, which is one of the best in the industry, to produce the first-class chocolate, which has now won several awards.
Background and history of Perú Puro
Perú Puro was created through a tragic accident: In August 2000, Frederic Wielgoss, the brother of Dr. Arne Wielgoss, was caught in a whirlpool while bathing in the Urubamba River at the age of 20 and has been missing ever since. A fundraising appeal was initiated by friends of the family to help the family raise the cost of the expensive search operation. When the search ended unsuccessfully and the money donated exceeded the cost, it was decided to use the excess money to help people in the region. Since no other aid organizations were active in this remote province, at the end of 2000 the association "Frederic - Help for Peru" was founded, which is recognized as a non-profit organization.
As a recognized tropical biologist with years of work experience in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Dr. Arno Wielgoss and Dr. Frauke Fischer saw what rainforest destruction and poverty mean. So they decided to open a market in Europe for the cocoa farmers by founding PERÚ PURO GmbH in order to improve the living conditions on site.
Most of the people living there are small farmers who immigrated from the highlands of Peru and have no experience in farming on sensitive soils. Inappropriate cultivation techniques such as slash-and-burn agriculture and monocultures are destroying the tropical rainforest, while fluctuating world market prices and a lack of sales opportunities are preventing sustainable agricultural development. Farming families have major deficits in balanced nutrition, hygiene and medical care. There is usually no electricity on the remote farms. The few schools are poorly equipped and many adults can neither read nor write.
In courses, the small farmers learn cultivation techniques that enable them to practice sustainable and profitable agriculture on the fragile jungle soil. This organic farming reduces erosion and pest infestation through ground cover plants and mixed crops, secures food through self-sufficiency, creates secure sources of income, and protects the rainforest and biodiversity through reforestation and the abandonment of slash-and-burn agriculture.
Already in the few years that the aid organization and Perú Puro have been on site, many things have changed. In 2007-2009, solar panels were installed in 17 of 22 village centers and schools to provide the village communities with electricity for the first time. In these villages, efforts have been made to improve education and health services and to provide agricultural training.
If you want to support the charity, choose the Peru Puro chocolate set of the three chocolates"with donation" and support the work.
Peru Puro at the Chocolate Festival
Also Peru Puro present at the first virtual Chocolate Gourmet Festival in Hannover - organized by Chocolats-de-luxe.com
