Manabi

THE CO-OP

Fortaleza del Valle consists of four agricultural associations: Valle del Carrizal, La Fortaleza, Quiroga, and Rio Grande de Canuto, that primarily are districts of Bolívar, Tosagua, Chone, Junín and Portoviejo, in the Province of Manabí, and composed of small and medium size producers whose objective is to promote the production and commercialization of organically certified, fine aroma Nacional Cocoa, as well as, fair trade and socio-economic and enviornmental development for its members and their families. The co-op has 600 members and together cover 1,700 hectars of agroforestry systems that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity of the enviornment which allows them to produce an annual average of 1,000 pounds of cocoa per hectar. Fortaleza del Valle has been given organic certification for its fine aroma cocoa from NOP, UE and FLO de Comercio Justo (Fair Trade). They have been participants in the fair trade movement since 2005 through the independent organic FLO certification. In the last few years, they have evaluated the generic fair trade standards for small production organizations and have made it a priority to allow producers to choose their own path of development adjusting to their realities in order to simplify and reduce costs.