It is well known that chocolate, the delicious treat we all love, comes from a bitter bean native to Central America. What is slightly less well known is that coffee and chocolate have swapped locations globally, with the majority of coffee, which is native to Africa, is grown in South/Central America and chocolate is mostly grown in Africa. Sibu chocolate, a Costa Rican company founded by two Americans, was created with the goal of bringing chocolate back to Latin America.

Founded in 2007 by Julio Fernandez Amon and George Soriano, Sibu Chocolate partnered directly with Costa Rican chocolate growers to process and sell chocolate domestically, instead of exporting to foreign countries like Belgium. This model provides huge advantages to local growers, as Sibu is able to pay farmers 40% more than the market rate because they don’t need to pay a shipping company. Sibu also pays consistent prices, not commodity prices, which means farmers earn a more stable income than they would with foreign buyers. In this regard, they’re very similar to Cafe Britt, as they’re both focused on processing and distribution, rather than primary production. Although Sibu is much smaller, they partner with local growers and emphasize the quality and locality of their product to compete with the quantity put out by other companies.

If I were to start an agriculture business in Costa Rica, my crop of choice would probably be bananas. Out of the crops we learned about over our journey, bananas seem the easiest to grow and harvest. They can be harvested year-round, come with their own packaging, and their leaves can be used as mulch and compost. The space between banana plants also offers opportunities to grow other plants to restore soil quality and preserve environmental health.