ÖKO
CARIBE

Dominican Republic

ABOUT OKO CARIBE

Nestled in the heart of the cacao rich Duarte province in the Dominican Republic, Öko-Caribe (“Eco-Caribbean” in German)

With more than 50 years of combined experience in cacao, owners Adriano de Jesus Rodriguez and Gualberto Acebey Torrejon have fine-tuned their systems to ensure consistent, superior quality in their 500+ tons of annual production.  Öko Caribe maintains close relationships with its 165 farmers through technical training, in agronomic practices and organic certification. 


 In addition, owners Adriano and Gualberto have personal relationships with all farmers, offering microfinance loans for cacao-related expenses, as well as personal loans for family emergencies or other community needs. The loyalty between Öko Caribe and the farmers they work with is not only evidenced in daily interactions between staff, management and farmers, but also in their best-in-class, award winning final product.

Learn more about this cacao origin

The El Cibao region, home to ÖKO’s network of farmers, is center of the Dominican Republic’s cacao production. The soil is rich and fertile, and the rainfall plentiful: ideal conditions for Theobroma cacao. 

The quality of ÖKO Caribe’s cacao is all in the details: they take special care to harvest only ripe pods while following a strict post-harvest protocol which dictates exactly how long they ferment and  how many times they aerate the beans. The team has also mastered the drying process and achieves ideal moisture content and drying time with solar drying beds.

Flavor Profile of Cacao Beans:

Honey, strawberry, nutmeg, coconut oil

FARMER IMPACT

106

Registered Farmers

$10,783

Average annual revenue per farmer from cacao sold into the UC Network

7

Average farm size in hectares

9296

Average sales per farmer in wet kilos

POST HARVEST PROCESSING

Fermentation

Centrally fermented in cascading wooden boxes

95% well fermented using FCCI protocol

Harvest Season

March through June

Drying Protocol

Solar drying on mesh tables under greenhouses and on concrete patios

Certifications

USDA Organic Certified

Fermentation

Centrally fermented in cascading wooden boxes

95% well fermented using FCCI protocol

Harvest Season

March through June

Drying Protocol

Solar drying on mesh tables under greenhouses and on concrete patios

Certifications

USDA Organic Certified

FERMENTATION & DRYING

Cacao is centrally fermented at this facility from cacao sourced from Oko's association members