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    <title>Open Cacao Index — recent updates</title>
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    <description>Recently added or revised cacao origin records on kakao.io.</description>
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  <item>
    <title>Belize — Stann Creek District — Stann Creek</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/bz-stann-creek/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Stann Creek District in southern Belize is a secondary cacao zone alongside Toledo, focus of the 1984-1987 Hershey-backed Belize Accelerated Cacao Production Project along the Hummingbird Highway that collapsed when world cocoa prices fell. Maya Mountain Cacao now works with smallholders in both Toledo and southern Stann Creek districts.]]></description>
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  <item>
    <title>Brazil — Rondônia (western Amazon) — Rondônia</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/br-rondonia/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Rondônia is one of Brazil's faster-growing cacao states, with commercial planting that began in the 1970s and roughly 8,262 hectares planted by the mid-2020s. Production is led by family farms in agroforestry systems, and in November 2023 INPI granted a geographical indication covering 52 municipalities in the state.]]></description>
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  <item>
    <title>Democratic Republic of the Congo — Tshopo Province (Bengamisa, near Kisangani) — Tshopo (Bengamisa)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/cd-tshopo-bengamisa/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A lowland Congo Basin cacao zone around Bengamisa, about 57 km from Kisangani, anchored historically by the Cacaoyère de Bengamisa (CABEN) plantation established from 1979-1980 on a 5,000-hectare landholding and now operating only a fraction of that area. Cocoa production in Tshopo has expanded in recent years through smallholder agroforests, with breeding heritage from the nearby Yangambi research station.]]></description>
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  <item>
    <title>Ecuador — Guayas (Balao; centralised fermentary now in Durán) — Camino Verde (Balao)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/ec-camino-verde-balao/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Camino Verde, founded by microbiologist Vicente Norero, began as a Nacional cacao estate near Balao in Ecuador's Guayas lowlands and is now a centralised fermentary in Durán supplying craft chocolate makers worldwide, known for experimental inoculated fermentation protocols.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Guatemala — Izabal (Caribbean lowlands) — Izabal</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/gt-izabal/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Izabal is Guatemala's Caribbean-lowland cacao department within the country's Northern producing region, a humid coastal zone around Río Dulce and Livingston where Q'eqchi' Maya cooperatives and smallholders grow cacao in agroforestry systems for both domestic and export markets.]]></description>
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  <item>
    <title>Guatemala — Suchitepéquez (Pacific piedmont) — Suchitepéquez</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/gt-suchitepequez/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Suchitepéquez, on Guatemala's Pacific piedmont, was the country's primary cacao-producing department during the 1970s-80s, with San Antonio Suchitepéquez at the historical heart of the southern producing region (Escuintla, Retalhuleu, Quetzaltenango, Suchitepéquez, San Marcos); much of its planted area has since been lost to sugarcane and other crops.]]></description>
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  <item>
    <title>Guinea — Guinée Forestière (Nzérékoré / Macenta / Lola, including Nzoo) — Guinea (bulk cacao)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/gn-bulk/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A minor West African producer with cacao concentrated in Guinée Forestière in the country's southeastern forest region (average elevation ~460 m), centred on Nzérékoré, Macenta and Lola — Nzoo, near Lola, is identified as the production hub. Output collapsed after independence in 1958 and the sector is currently the focus of a national coffee-cocoa revival programme announced in 2025.]]></description>
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    <title>Indonesia — East Nusa Tenggara (Flores) — Flores</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/id-flores/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A cacao origin on the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara, where smallholder cacao is grown in mixed agroforestry gardens alongside cloves, coconut and coffee. Production is concentrated in the Ende, Sikka, East Manggarai and East Flores regencies, supported by Rikolto, Rainforest Alliance's TRACTIONS programme and local cooperatives.]]></description>
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  <item>
    <title>Indonesia — Java (East and Central Java) — Java</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/id-java/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[An Indonesian island with both historic Dutch-era estate cacao and smallholder hybrid plantings. The DR (Djati Roenggo) breeding line of light-coloured 'Java A' or 'Edel' cacao, still produced at PTPN XII's Kendeng Lembu estate in Banyuwangi, gives Java its reputation as a source of pale, mild, fermented fine-grade beans.]]></description>
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    <title>Liberia — Lofa / Nimba / Bong counties — Liberia (bulk cacao)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/lr-bulk/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Liberia's cocoa belt spans the northern counties of Lofa, Nimba and Bong, where roughly 30,000-40,000 smallholders work plots averaging about two hectares with yields near 200 kg/ha. The sector — annual output around 10,000 tonnes, a fraction of potential — is the focus of multi-year rehabilitation programmes (LIFE, LICSIP, COVADEP) led by Solidaridad, the EU and the Ministry of Agriculture, including Centres for Cocoa Development.]]></description>
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    <title>Mexico — Oaxaca (Chinantla / Papaloapan lowlands) — Oaxaca (Chinantla)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/mx-oaxaca-chinantla/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A minor Mexican cacao region in the humid Chinantla foothills and Papaloapan lowlands of northern Oaxaca, where Chinantec smallholders cultivate cacao in agroforestry plots. Although Oaxaca grows little cacao itself relative to Tabasco and Chiapas, the state is a long-standing centre of Mexican drinking-chocolate culture.]]></description>
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  <item>
    <title>Nicaragua — South Caribbean Coast (Nueva Guinea / El Rama) — Nueva Guinea</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/ni-nueva-guinea/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Nueva Guinea and El Rama, in Nicaragua's South Caribbean lowlands, form one of the country's main cacao zones alongside the Triángulo Minero, Waslala, Matiguás and Río San Juan. Germany's Ritter Sport has invested heavily in the area since 2012 through its 'El Cacao' farm and the Cacao-Nica cooperative initiative dating to 1990.]]></description>
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    <title>Panama — Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé (Bocas del Toro section) — Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/pa-comarca-ngabe-bugle/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[The Bocas del Toro section of the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, an autonomous Indigenous territory of western Panama, is a smallholder cacao zone where Ngäbe families produce organic cacao for export through associations such as COCABO (founded 1952), ASAP, APUT and ACODAAC. The Örebä project, launched in 2018 by ACODAAC, has brought international recognition to Ngäbe organic chocolate.]]></description>
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    <title>Sierra Leone — Eastern Province (Kenema / Kailahun / Kono) — Sierra Leone (bulk cacao)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/sl-bulk/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A smaller West African producer where over 90 percent of national cacao comes from the Eastern Province around Kenema, Kailahun and Kono, with Kailahun the largest district by area. Yields average 300-400 kg/ha. Cooperative and community models led by Lizard Earth (Kenema; ~2,300-2,500 farmers, organic certified 2020) and NGOCFU (Kenema; ~1,743 farmers, Fairtrade certified 2020) supply organic and fine-flavour lots, partly from the Gola Rainforest buffer zone.]]></description>
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    <title>Tanzania — Mbeya Region (Kyela District, near Lake Nyasa) — Mbeya (Southern Highlands)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/tz-mbeya/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/tz-mbeya/</guid>
    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A cacao-growing area in Tanzania's Southern Highlands where the Kyela district accounts for roughly 80 percent of national cocoa output, much of it organically grown by smallholders on small plots. The Mababu Cooperative was recognised as a 2019 Cocoa of Excellence producer; the Livy Africa-owned Mababu Chocolate brand uses Kyela beans noted for berry-fruit character.]]></description>
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    <title>United States — O&apos;ahu (Waialua / North Shore and windward O&apos;ahu, Hawaii, USA) — O&apos;ahu (Waialua)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/us-hawaii-oahu/</link>
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    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A small cacao origin on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu, centred on the Waialua Estate (planted by Dole on former sugar land from 1998) and Mānoa Chocolate's Kamananui Farm on the North Shore. Genetic studies by HARC and USDA-ARS describe O'ahu cacao as a UAF x Trinitario hybrid population.]]></description>
  </item>
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    <title>Vietnam — Central Highlands (Lâm Đồng, Bảo Lộc plateau) — Lâm Đồng</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/vn-lam-dong/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/vn-lam-dong/</guid>
    <pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A Central Highlands province in southern Vietnam, on the Bảo Lộc plateau, where cacao is grown by smallholders including indigenous K'Ho families. Vietnam's cocoa is overwhelmingly Trinitario-hybrid TD material; Lâm Đồng is one of four Central Highlands provinces (with Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông and Gia Lai) that together account for roughly 48 percent of the country's c. 3,400 ha of cocoa, and is a flagship origin for Marou single-origin bars.]]></description>
  </item>
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    <title>Australia — Far North Queensland (Mossman / Daintree / Mission Beach) — Far North Queensland</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/au-far-north-queensland/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A small tropical-north Australian origin around Mossman, the Daintree and Mission Beach, near the southern climatic limit for commercial cacao. Daintree Estates marketed the first Australian-grown chocolate from 2011, and a Mission Beach grower won a 2017 International Cocoa Award.]]></description>
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    <title>Belize — Toledo District — Toledo (Maya Mountain)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/bz-toledo-maya-mountain/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/bz-toledo-maya-mountain/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[The Toledo District of southern Belize is a smallholder cacao region farmed largely by Q'eqchi' and Mopan Maya communities, with centralised wet-bean buying and fermentation. The surrounding Maya Mountains hold relic Criollo landraces of interest to conservation.]]></description>
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    <title>Bolivia — La Paz Department (Alto Beni) — Alto Beni</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/bo-alto-beni/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/bo-alto-beni/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Alto Beni, in the Amazon foothills of Bolivia's La Paz Department, is a smallholder and cooperative cacao region, much of it organically certified. It is the home of El Ceibo, a long-established cooperative federation, and a large share of the country's organic cacao.]]></description>
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    <title>Bolivia — Beni Department (Baures, Iténez forest reserve) — Baures / Iténez</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/bo-baures-itenez/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Wild-harvested cacao from the forests around Baures in Bolivia's Beni Department, near the Iténez (Iténez) forest reserve and the Río Blanco. The native stands grow in 'chocolatales' and are recognised as an heirloom cacao preservation site.]]></description>
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    <title>Bolivia — La Paz Department (Alto Beni) — El Ceibo (Alto Beni)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/bo-el-ceibo/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/bo-el-ceibo/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[El Ceibo is a federation of smallholder cacao cooperatives in Bolivia's Alto Beni, founded in 1977. It was among the first certified-organic cocoa cooperatives in the world and controls processing through to finished cocoa products at its facility near La Paz.]]></description>
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    <title>Bolivia — Beni Department (Amazon lowlands) — Wild Bolivian Amazon Cacao (Beni)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/bo-wild-beni-amazon/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Parts of the Beni lowlands hold stands of wild and semi-wild cacao, known locally as Beniano or cacao silvestre, harvested by communities in forest islands called 'chocolatales'. It is of interest both as a genetic resource and as a distinctive origin.]]></description>
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    <title>Brazil — Bahia (Ilhéus / Itabuna cacao belt) — Bahia (Ilhéus)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/br-bahia-ilheus/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[The Ilhéus and Itabuna belt of southern Bahia is Brazil's historic cacao region, traditionally grown under native Atlantic Forest shade in the cabruca agroforestry system. The crop was devastated by witches' broom disease from the late 1980s; recovery has been led by disease-tolerant clones and a growing fine-flavour bean-to-bar sector.]]></description>
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    <title>Brazil — Espírito Santo (Linhares, lower Rio Doce) — Linhares (Espírito Santo)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/br-linhares-espirito-santo/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Linhares, in the lower Rio Doce valley of Espírito Santo, concentrates the bulk of that state's cacao and holds a Brazilian geographical indication. The region's drier climate and irrigated full-sun plantings give yields above the national average.]]></description>
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    <title>Brazil — Pará (Medicilândia, Transamazon Highway) — Medicilândia (Transamazônica)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/br-medicilandia-para/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/br-medicilandia-para/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Medicilândia, on the Transamazon Highway in Pará, is described by Brazilian sources as the country's single largest cocoa-producing municipality, with cacao grown by family farmers in shaded agroforestry systems. The region is noted for high yields and beans with high cocoa-butter content.]]></description>
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    <title>Brazil — Pará (Tomé-Açu, northeastern Pará) — Tomé-Açu (Pará)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/br-tome-acu-para/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Tomé-Açu in northeastern Pará is known for diversified agroforestry (the locally developed SAFTA system) introduced by Japanese-Brazilian settlers, with cacao grown alongside açaí, black pepper and timber species. Tomé-Açu cacao holds a Brazilian geographical indication.]]></description>
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    <title>Cameroon — Centre / South-West / Littoral / South regions — Cameroon (bulk cacao)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/cm-bulk/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A major Central African producer whose bulk cacao is widely associated with a reddish bean colour from its Trinitario-type hybrid component and, in fire-dried lots, a smoky note.]]></description>
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    <title>Colombia — Antioquia (Bajo Cauca / Urabá) — Antioquia</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/co-antioquia/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/co-antioquia/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Antioquia is one of Colombia's leading cacao departments, with production concentrated in the Bajo Cauca and Urabá areas. Cacao is grown largely by smallholders, often as part of post-conflict crop-substitution and agroforestry programmes.]]></description>
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    <title>Colombia — Arauca (Arauca River basin, Orinoquía) — Arauca</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/co-arauca/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A cacao department on the Colombia-Venezuela border along the Arauca River in the Orinoquía lowlands, where fertile floodplain soils support fine-flavour cacao. Arauca is among Colombia's leading cacao-producing departments.]]></description>
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    <title>Colombia — Huila (upper Magdalena valley) — Huila</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/co-huila/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[An Andean department in southern Colombia where cacao is grown alongside coffee, largely by smallholders and cooperatives in municipalities such as Garzón, Gigante and El Pital. Huila is among the country's leading cacao-producing departments.]]></description>
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    <title>Colombia — Santander (montaña santandereana) — Santander</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/co-santander/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Colombia's leading cacao-producing department, in the eastern Andes around the 'montaña santandereana' and San Vicente de Chucurí, supplying roughly two-fifths of national output from cooperatives and smallholders.]]></description>
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    <title>Colombia — Magdalena / Cesar (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta) — Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/co-sierra-nevada-arhuaco/</link>
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    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Cacao grown on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia, including production by Arhuaco and other Indigenous communities descended from the Tairona. The massif is also known for a local Porcelana-type fine cacao.]]></description>
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  <item>
    <title>Colombia — Tolima (middle Magdalena valley) — Tolima</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/co-tolima/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/co-tolima/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A central Colombian department in the middle Magdalena valley and Andean foothills, among the country's leading cacao producers, with smallholder cacao often associated with sweet fresh-fruit and nutty notes.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Colombia — Nariño (Tumaco, Pacific coast) — Tumaco</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/co-tumaco/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/co-tumaco/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A humid Pacific-coast cacao origin in southern Colombia's Nariño department, producing roughly 6 percent of national output. Cacao is grown largely by smallholder and cooperative associations such as ASPROCAT, with quality-focused programmes developed since the 2010s.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Costa Rica — Limón (Talamanca) — Talamanca</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/cr-talamanca/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/cr-talamanca/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[The Talamanca region of Caribbean Costa Rica is a smallholder cacao landscape with a strong Indigenous farming tradition, where cacao has been grown since pre-Columbian times. Producers are organised largely through APPTA, founded in 1987, and a large share of growers are Indigenous women.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Costa Rica — Alajuela (Upala / northern lowlands) — Upala</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/cr-upala/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/cr-upala/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Upala, in Costa Rica's northern lowlands near the Nicaraguan border, is a recognised cacao district sometimes called the country's 'chocolate district', where smallholders — about a fifth of them women — grow cacao on small plots.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Côte d&apos;Ivoire — Southern forest belt (San-Pédro, Daloa, Soubré, Abengourou) — Côte d&apos;Ivoire (bulk cacao)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/ci-bulk/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/ci-bulk/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[The world's largest cacao producer, supplying roughly 40 percent of global output as high-volume bulk beans grown by smallholders across the southern forest belt.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Cuba — Guantánamo Province (Baracoa) — Baracoa</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/cu-baracoa/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/cu-baracoa/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Baracoa, in eastern Cuba's Guantánamo Province, accounts for the large majority of Cuban cacao and is also the country's main chocolate-processing area. Cacao is grown by smallholders on small plots interplanted with banana and coconut.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Democratic Republic of the Congo — North Kivu (Beni territory) — North Kivu / Beni</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/cd-north-kivu/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/cd-north-kivu/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[North Kivu is DR Congo's main cocoa region, centred on Beni territory, producing fruit-forward, largely organic beans from smallholders; access and certification are periodically disrupted by regional insecurity.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Dominican Republic — Multiple provinces (Cibao, Eastern and Northern regions) — CONACADO</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/do-conacado/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/do-conacado/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[CONACADO is a national federation of Dominican cacao farmers, founded in the late 1980s with German development support, grouping well over a hundred local producer associations and several thousand smallholders. It is a major exporter of certified-organic and Fairtrade fermented cacao.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Dominican Republic — Hato Mayor Province (Eastern region) — Hato Mayor</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/do-hato-mayor/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/do-hato-mayor/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Hato Mayor in the Dominican Republic's Eastern region is a long-standing cacao province where Trinitario-type material is grown by smallholders, much of it organically certified and channelled through producer organisations.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Dominican Republic — Duarte Province (San Francisco de Macorís, Cibao) — Hispaniola (San Francisco de Macorís)</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/do-hispaniola-sfm/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/do-hispaniola-sfm/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[The Cibao region around San Francisco de Macorís in Duarte Province is the core of Dominican cacao, supplying a large share of national output. The country is a leading exporter of certified-organic cocoa, and the area's fermented 'Hispaniola'-grade beans are widely used in fine and craft chocolate.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Dominican Republic — Duarte Province (San Francisco de Macorís) — Öko Caribe</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/do-oko-caribe/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/do-oko-caribe/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Öko Caribe is a producer organisation near San Francisco de Macorís that buys wet cacao from member smallholders and ferments it centrally. It is a long-standing supplier of consistent, carefully fermented Dominican cacao to craft chocolate makers.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Ecuador — Arriba Nacional</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/ec-arriba-nacional/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/ec-arriba-nacional/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[Ecuador's historic native cacao type, valued for a delicate floral character known as the 'Arriba' aroma — a name traders gave to cacao coming from 'up-river' of the Gulf of Guayaquil. Much of the current crop is genetically admixed with introduced clones.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Ecuador — El Oro — El Oro</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/ec-el-oro/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/ec-el-oro/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A southern coastal province of Ecuador, part of the western coastal belt that accounts for the large majority of national cacao production, growing both Nacional and hybrid material.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Ecuador — Esmeraldas — Esmeraldas</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/ec-esmeraldas/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/ec-esmeraldas/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A humid northern coastal province of Ecuador producing a mix of Nacional and hybrid cacao, largely from smallholders, with cooperative organisation such as UOPROCAE aggregating fine-aroma lots.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Ecuador — Guayas (Guayaquil basin) — Guayas</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/ec-guayas/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/ec-guayas/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A major cacao-producing province around the Guayas River basin and the port of Guayaquil, historically the gathering and export point for 'Arriba' cacao and today one of Ecuador's top producing provinces.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Ecuador — Los Ríos — Los Ríos</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/ec-los-rios/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/ec-los-rios/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A leading cacao-producing province in Ecuador's central coastal lowlands, blending traditional Nacional with widely planted CCN-51 hybrid material. Los Ríos, Guayas and Manabí together account for the bulk of national output.]]></description>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title>Ecuador — Manabí — Manabí</title>
    <link>https://kakao.io/origins/ec-manabi/</link>
    <guid isPermaLink="true">https://kakao.io/origins/ec-manabi/</guid>
    <pubDate>Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    <author>noreply@kakao.io (Open Cacao Index)</author>
    <description><![CDATA[A coastal Ecuadorian province with a long cacao tradition, today one of the three largest producing provinces, growing both Nacional and high-yielding hybrid cacao.]]></description>
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