East Kalimantan was once the leading cacao growing region in Indonesia. Following an outbreak of the black pod disease in the 1990s however the Government moved most of the bulk production to Sulawesi.

The cooperative “Berau Cocoa” was founded in 2018 with the goal to rehabilitate the remaining treestock and promote cacao as alternative income source for the local farmers in an area which has traditionally been known for its coal mining industry.

Today, 168 farmers grow cacao on approx. 300 hectares. The Berau Cocoa team have been supported by a senior researcher from ICCRI who has supervised and trained the team in best practice farming and post-harvest handling methods.