We are planning a project to map biological, geographic and social dimensions of the cacao growing regions of the Sierra Nevada. Presented here is a draft concept of this project that is under discussion.

DRAFT: Cacao for Peace (CfP): Penn State Proposal Activities

Mapping Cacao farms in the Sierra Nevada

Implementing Partners: PSU (lead), Purdue, SENA, CORPOICA, Fedecacao, Cacao de Colombia, Red de Cacaoteros, CIAT

Concept: In support of the CfP activities in the Sierra Nevada region, it is necessary to map the locations and basic information on the cacao farms in the three target regions. These regions are:

Arhuaco Reservation - Katansama: 148 farms
Guardabosques de la Sierra producer association 66 farms
Organic Producers Association of the Municipality of Dibulla (APOMD, Spanish acronym), 35 farms

Total: 250 farms

Sample and Data Collection

  • Basic Farm Survey
  • Soil Samples for nutrient analysis
  • Leaf Samples for foliar nutrient and DNA analysis
  • Cocoa Bean Samples for flavor profiling

We would also like to more broadly map locations of wild cacao plants growing in remote locations of the Sierra Nevada. This will be for soil and leaf samples only.

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