Situated at the southern end of the Yucatán Peninsula, Guatemala is the most densely inhabited state in Central America, sharing its borders with Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, and Belize. It boasts dual coastlines: a slender gateway to the Caribbean Sea’s Gulf of Honduras to the east, and a Pacific coastline in the southwest.

Georgia Ramon is an active participant in the De La Selva cooperative, which finds its roots in the project initiatives of the esteemed rainforest management organization, OroVerde. In Spanish, ‘DeLaSelva’ translates to ‘from the rainforest’.

The purchase of Jolomijix chocolate cultivates income for the indigenous Quecha communities residing along the Sierra de las Minas National Park’s perimeter. This mountainous region, which houses more than 885 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1992 due to its distinct cloud forest biodiversity, which ascends to over 3000 meters. The legendary quetzal, a bird sacred to the Mayan gods and the national symbol of Guatemala, also calls this area home.

The cocoa is grown using a unique method within biodiverse forest gardens, intermingled with fruit and shade trees. This approach yields abundant harvests for decades, offering additional income to families and simultaneously preserving the rainforest. By controlling their processing and marketing, the small-scale farmers bolster their economic independence and self-sufficiency.

Guatemala’s unique cocoa has held a significant place in the advanced Mayan civilization for over 2000 years, a tradition still upheld by the descendants in the Sierra de las Minas. Today, over 400 small farmers from the Quecha community, direct descendants of the Maya, actively participate in cocoa cultivation, carrying forward their ancestors’ legacy.