Planted in an agroforestry system by Noburo Sakaguchi, the farmer's father Francisco Wataro Sakaguchi , the cocoa of the Maranhão variety, harvested by CAMTA – Cooperativa Mista de Agricultores de Tomé Açú, in Pará, presents notes of dried fruits, wood and nuts. Francis applies artistic and spiritual practice of “Natural Agriculture” on your property, a holistic system guided by the intrinsic wisdom of nature, which seeks to understand the subtle physical relationships and the spiritual bonds that exist between all the elements involved in cultivation of food: the earth, the sun, the rain, the wind, the farmer, the people who consume food and the society in which they live. Its purpose is to nurture health and well-being of all elements.
“The Japanese were brought in to install in the North the same systems as in the South. In other words, monocultures. But here things were different.” – Francisco Sakaguchi in an interview with Revista Piauí
In that same decade, the Colônia de Tomé-Açú, as it was renamed, experienced the success of black pepper plantations and, after a few years, 7% of all pepper marketed in the world was the result of the work of two hundred families in the Amazon. Noburo dedicated himself to the cultivation of the spice, but in the midst of pepper, he also encouraged other crops that could give a more immediate economic return. Diversification and biodiverse planting were necessary. What we now call agroforestry systems came to Noburo as an insight when traveling through Brazil in search of fruit species: the preservation of the native forest itself in its exuberance of varieties. This was a new concept that had been contested at first by the Colony due to past failures and supposed learnings. But Noburo insisted on what Francis dubbed a “fruit salad” when recalling his father’s speech: “mixed plant. Not everything will survive, but it's not a problem. He died, he lost his place. Plant something else.”
By combining natural reforestation with the planting of commercial species, Noburo found a hybrid system that preserved biodiversity. Noburo Sakaguchi made variety the principle of his system. It is not by chance that several species can be found today at Fazenda Sakaguchi, from coffee, cocoa, cupuaçu, andiroba, açaí, guarana, pitaya, soursop, lemon, tangerine, acerola, black pepper, Chinese cinnamon, cardamom, chestnut, peach palm, even mangosteen, rambutan, puxuri, quinine, camu-camu, sapucaia, cumaru, abiu, durian, among many others sometimes totally unknown to the vast majority.
With the legacy of his father's teachings and learning, in addition to his deep knowledge of the forest and connection with nature, Francisco Sakaguchi currently considers himself an extractivist and no longer a farmer; has applied “Natural Agriculture” to much of its property, a holistic system that is guided by the intrinsic wisdom of nature. He combined natural fruit growing with agroforestry systems. “In terms of taste and safety, the product is already differentiated, both for the consumer and for the producer. The use of chemical products is avoided as much as possible and the enormous influence of nature on the quality, flavor and aroma of fruits is gained”, highlights Francisco .
Reference in the fermentation process, called Superior CAMTA and developed by settlers of Japanese descent, through the creation of 200 types and shapes of troughs, Sakaguchi chocolate presents notes of dried fruits, wood and nuts, flavor and aroma inherited from cocoa variety of Maranhão and of high intensity. It is pleasant and palatable.
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
This work directly impacts more than 100 people and contributes to maintaining 400 hectares of forest standing. From harvesting to production, we seek to be responsible, supportive and socioeconomically fair.
OTHER INGREDIENTS AND SUPPLIERS *
- Brown Sugar: supplied by COPAVI – Cooperativa de Produção Agropecuária Vitória, located in Paranacity, in the northwest of the state of Paraná. Founded in 1993, from the Santa Maria settlement, with just 236 hectares and 61 inhabitants, COPAVI is the longest-running experience in collective and solidary production in Paraná.
- Cupuaçu butter: supplied by Fazenda Sakaguchi, from cupuaçu harvested on site and cold pressed.
* possible changes in the supplier may happen due to the availability of the product.
Sakaguchi Chocolate - 78% Cocoa
Geographical coordinates of the cocoa harvesting location: 2° 24′ 53′′ S | 48° 8′ 60′′ W
TOMÉ-AÇÚ - Pará - Amazon - Brazil
Chocolate Sakaguchi honors a Japanese family that has a historical relationship with the region where they planted their roots and planted cocoa in an agroforestry system. César is a friend of Francisco Wataro Sakaguchi, owner of the farm that supplies the cocoa for this delicious chocolate through the Mixed Cooperativa de Agricultores de Tomé-Açú, CAMTA, in Pará. Francisco is the son of a forestry engineer named Noburo Sakaguchi. He moved to Brazil in the mid-20th century and planted a forest in which more than 80 fruit trees are now harvested, with leafy trees and remarkable biodiversity. What not many people know is that this entire area had been completely deforested. The feat earned not only a tribute in a Japanese publication, but essentially the great success of regeneration of the area through the agroforestry system of plantation after successive failures of previous generations in the cultivation of monocultures.
In 1929, a group of 189 Japanese immigrants arrived at Colônia Acará, located in the current municipality of Tomé-Açú, in the northeast of Pará. The intention of Companhia Nipônica de Plantação do Brasil, a company founded with the support of the Japanese government, was to develop the largest cocoa cultivation project in the world in the region. Like several other experiences of implantation of monocultures in the area, this project also failed after successive attempts that simply disregarded the reality of the Brazilian tropics. According to Francisco, the big problem was that, in addition to not knowing the climate and the place, most people only knew about planting vegetables and rice. They deforested everything through fires with the objective of cleaning the area, they planted cocoa in the sun and not in the shade as it should and the crop also attracted various pests to add to the many lessons learned that several Japanese generations had in the region.
Noboru Sakaguchi, in turn, arrived in Pará only in 1957, having just graduated in forestry engineering from the Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo-Nodai) and encouraged by the Japanese government to settle in countries like Indonesia and Brazil to dedicate themselves to the cultivation the rubber tree and the production of rubber. Noburo even set aside 12 hectares for planting rubber trees, but he soon realized that his perspective on that new reality should be different.
