In 2013, when my wife and I started working on projects in Nicaragua, our focus was women and their health. I had just moved from the U.S., and my wife, born in a small mining town in Nicaragua, had just finished university. We started a project focused on delivering women’s health access to the most remote parts of Nicaragua (www.thelilyproject.org). As we met with and examined thousands of women, it became clear that if we wanted to reach more women, we needed a plan to work with the entire community.

 

In 2015, Matt and Amanda Carrara with Enliven International approached my wife and me with an interest in developing a social impact project focused on cacao and chocolate in Nicaragua. Together we launched Enliven Cacao and started exporting cacao to the U.S. In Nicaragua, we focused on training and development in cacao cooperatives and developed critical infrastructure projects in several communities. The projects included electricity, roads, and small businesses.

 

 

Due to socio-political turmoil in 2018, the government began to close down most social impact organizations in the country starting in 2020. Determined to continue the impactful work that we started, we reached out to like-minded folks that had been farming cacao and investing in the country since early 2000 to form a partnership. The partnership has enabled the work to continue in rural communities while improving the quality and service of our U.S. customers.

 

 

We are thankful to be able to continue the work with our valued farmers and communities in Nicaragua. Through partnering with the most valuable part of the supply chain, the farmers, we believe that positive change is inevitable, and we invite you to be a part of that journey.