After a swamp walk to century-old cacao trees (video & transcript)

Transcript

After bushwhacking through the swamp, I finally made it out. Matios, how does it feel to be out of the swamp? Oh, it’s awesome! I’m just laughing with relief.

How long has your family owned this land? Well, it’s about to make 100 years, since 1921. And how old are the cacao trees on average? Most of them are between 70 to 80 years old. The cloned varieties, though, they produce higher yields, but their lifetime is shorter, around 15 years. At the end of that period, you need to replant them. Fifteen years isn’t very long, not very long at all. But the native trees, like the ones my grandfather planted in this area, can live more than 100 years. Their production is lower, but the lifetime of the tree is so much higher, so much higher.

Now, about production per hectare, it’s around 60 to 70, I think. I hope that’s right. I’m trying to smooth out the supply, aiming for consistency over the next 15 years.