Kampura Farms

Izabal, Guatemala

HCP Designee #17
Designated 2023

Bursary Sponsor:
Steven Prickett
Contact
[email protected]
Sales
[email protected]

Discover Heirloom Designated Cacao Farming in Guatemala

"Welcome to finca Kampura, which means “Beautiful Woman” in Miskito, a Caribbean dialect from the coast of Nicaragua.

Founded in 2011 with the goal to develop a sustainable, social responsible and environmentally friendly farm.The farm is located in Izabal, Guatemala, Central America. The name "Guatemala" comes from the Nahuatl word Cuauhtēmallān (nahwiki), or "place of many trees." Guatemala has been heavily deforested and is no longer a place of many trees. In the last 50 years we have lost over half of our natural forests. As a nation, we have forgotten our identity and we are losing our heritage. At Kampura we want to change this and the only way to bring change is to lead by example. We have converted over 750 hectares of open pastures into forests. In order to create our forests we have planted more than 500,000 trees. We have developed a unique planting system for our cacao. We use endangered tropical tree species as shade trees. We are one of the largest germplasm cacao banks in Guatemala. Part of our collection includes Guatemala's own varieties called SGU. We look forward to conserve and explore the potential of all of our germplasm."
- Rodrigo Sevilla

GENETIC PROFILE
PRODUCTION NOTES
TASTING PANEL NOTES
HOW TO BUY

USDA Genetic Profile for HCP #17 Cacao

Four diversity categories were identified in the USDA-ARS HCP 17 analysis.

*USDA-ARS is now using 12 instead of the original 10 structure groups to discriminate genetics. This includes Jurua.

Production Notes

The following roasting conditions were followed in preparing the liquor and chocolate samples for the tasting panel analysis:

118°C x 27 min
83 beans per 100g

ISCQF Protocol for Roasting Cocoa Beans, time from -2°C from set point

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The Kampura farm was established in 2011. It was previously a cattle farm with scattered Pinetree’s. The property is 800 hectares, and has gone through a significant transformation into a mixed agroforestry system since the new owners took over. The farm has been planted in stages over the past 10 years, and now includes a rubber plantation and a cacao agroforestry system. The cacao is planted under the shade of planted mahogany and rosewood trees as well as madre-de-cacao. A total of 143 hectares of cacao has been planted beginning with a 3-hectare experimental area planted in 2013, then an additional 23 hectares planted in 2015, then another 70 hectares, and finally another 50 hectares, all planted in consecutive years.

Roughly 160,000 cacao trees representing over 50 cultivars are planted under approximately 130,000 Mahogany and 90,000 Rosewood trees. The cacao is planted in a 3x3 meter density under the Mahogany and Rosewood trees which are planted at a 3x12 meter density. All of the cacao trees on the farm are grafted. The farm is part of the Guatemalan Forests Incentive Program Certification, which has standardized planting densities of 1111 forest shade trees over an equal number of cacao trees.

The farm is not organic, and nutrition is provided by the application of chicken manure and chemical fertilizer to the entire farm. Other chemicals are used as needed. Annual production of cacao is estimated at 60 metric tons per year, and is sold mostly to the national market in the west of the country at Quetzaltenango, where it is used for the production of drinking chocolate locally. Most of the beans are sold as standard quality with a small amount sold as fine flavor. The primary income for the farm is through the production of rubber from the rubber plantation. All of the cultivars on the farm have been sourced through CATIE except for a few varietals from Finca Maria, Guatemala. The terrain of the farm is mostly hilly with many ravines and contours with an extensive network of rocky and gravel roads with many small wooden bridges.